Reborn
by Wondla Master
Summary: My entire life I've been alone on an island. I lived quietly and always kept to myself. Until a ship crashed into my island that is. And on that very same ship, was someone who had closer ties to me and my past than I could have ever realized. I am Elena. This is the story of my past and my present. My discovery of who I am. And of how some things are always bound to repeat itself.
1. The Past and The Present

_I felt an unbearable heat build up in my hands. My heart was beating in my chest like a caged bird that desperately wanted to be free. I was furious._

 _Sending the most fearsome glare that I could at the man that stood across from me, the heat in my hands only grew. He didn't back down- his azure eyes easily returned the glare to my turquoise ones._

 _"You've gone too far." I growled out at him. This seemed to have hit a nerve for him as I saw his eyes flash at me._

 _"_ I've _gone too far?!" He stated before pointing a finger at me angrily. "I've been trying to save you from this the entire time!"_

 _I took in the devastation to the place around me that I called home. My anger spiked as I remembered how all of this happened, and my eyes wandered back to him. In the back of my mind I felt the worry from my twin sister towards me. I pushed the feeling away, not wanting to be distracted at the moment. He had caused this. I had been warned, but it happened anyways, and now the children are suffering because of it._

 _A loud boom was heard outside of the house that we stood in. I vaguely took in the sound of a multitude of asteroids raining down from the sky and onto our home. The asteroids hit the ground nearby, making the ground shake a moment before the impact was heard. We barely noticed any of it while we argued._

 _"No! You've been avoid me all month! If it wasn't for Qilby's warning-"_

 _"_ Qilby! _" He shouted over another distant rumble, his voice strained. "You've been listening to Qilby?! He's mad! Did he ever bother to tell you why it is that we have to keep moving from one world to the next?! Why it is that the children are in constant danger after only a few hundred years?!"_

 _"What are you talking about?" I stated quickly. My voice stated my sudden worry clearly as my dragon sister had sent me a more urgent and worried question. I pushed her aside again, in favor in hearing what it was that the man in front of me had to say. His form seemed to have deflated from his anger towards me as he then spoke._

 _"It's all his fault Elena. It always has been..." He said sadly, his eyes downcast and his hat successfully blocked me from seeing all of his face properly._

 _I suddenly felt as though I had been punched in the gut. I knew that his words that rang only with truth. With a single look I could tell that he had told me the truth._ Everything _about him told me that he spoke the truth- and it hurt. For the first time in my life I wished that I hadn't known him so well as to be able to tell when he was lying to me with a single look. I knew. Besides, the only time I would catch him in a lie was for a joke. Never would he lie for anything serious._

 _Tears began to prick at my eyes. The ground shook. The house shivered like a leaf in response, threatening to collapse on us at any moment._

 _"He... lied?" My voice was tight with emotion. I looked at the man before me with disbelief. I begged him with my eyes for him to tell me otherwise. He only held sorrow and betrayal in his eyes. I looked down, trying to process what I was just told. Eventually I nodded. I felt a warm hand hold mine, prompting me to look up. When I did, I was met by his cool eyes gazing into mine with all of the love that we shared._

 _"Come on." he said, and started to pull me along behind him. We were met outside by our dragon siblings. "Let's go and save the children once again."_

 _I nodded, squeezing his hand in response before we parted ways. We climbed onto our sibling dragons respectively. Once being the size of a small baby, they had now easily grown to three times the size of our house. His dragon sibling was male. The large dragon had a beautiful white layer of scales that ran down his back. The only time that the color was disrupted was with the random cluster of blue scales that dotted the dragons hide irregularly. The white dragon's underbelly was an off-white color to the scales on his back. As for my dragon sibling, she was female. She was about the same size as the white dragon, but her hide was black. The only time that the shade was disrupted was with the odd cluster of green that would appear irregularity along her back. Her entire underbelly was green as well, but it was such a dark green that it was almost indiscernible from the rest of her hide._

 _Both dragons had to lean down to one side to allow us to climb up their forelimbs. I hopped from my sisters large paw to her sharp elbow, before I landed on her shoulder. I quickly made my way to the top of her head, where I could hold onto one of her long emerald-colored horns._

 _Only able to extend their large leather-like wings to a certain point while standing next to one another, the dragons balance on their hind legs. With practiced ease, my dragon sibling jumped high into the air. Once she was at the peak of her jump, she quickly flapped her wings downwards, creating a noise similar to that of a thunderclap. We were launched well into the air; high enough for my sibling to fly with the full extent of her wings and not get in the way of the white dragon that was following closely behind us. We headed straight towards one of the falling asteroids._

 _I felt my palms heat up once more and this time I didn't hold back my power. I drew my hands in three quick circles, each one in front of the other. My Wakfu blasted out of the portals at a searing heat. It hit the asteroid at the same moment that second Wakfu beam had. Both beams easily destroyed the asteroid, which shattered and scattered into smaller and less destructive pieces._

 _Just as my sister and I were about to turn to the next asteroid, out of the corner of my eye I saw a portal appear. It was above the head of my blue-eyed companion. My own eyes grew wide with sudden intense panic, and with a speed I didn't know I possessed, I made a portal of my own. Within moments I was standing in front of the man that I loved. The world seemed to slow down around me as I watched in slow-motion as a knife came out of the portal that currently had a nameless owner. Just as I had fully blocked the intended target, time seemed to catch up to me again. The person with the knife quickly fell out of their portal and stabbed the very first person that they saw- me._

 _Because I was shorter than him, the knife had easily pierced me through my collar bone. It penetrated my lungs instead of plunging into my heart. In the next few moments, everything seemed to grow quiet. Though, I knew that everything was anything but quiet. It was only when I tried to take in a breath- to only get a lung full of blood- that sound seemed to register into my brain once more._

 _Someone was yelling out my name, trying to get my attention._

 _My eyes were on the assassin. He had tried to kill the one that I love. The man who had aimed to kill looked at me- shock, deep regret and sorrow seemed to flash through his dark eyes before he opened another portal and disappeared through it._

 _I felt the warmth of of my beloved holding me, catching me before I could fall. I hadn't even noticed that I had fallen back into him until he was cradling me in his arms. Tears were in his eyes as he called out my name over and over, blocking my view of their beautiful color._

 _I coughed. My body was trying to get rid of the blood in my lungs- trying to live. There was more blood than there was air though. My lungs were burning from the lack of oxygen. Already I was starting to get light headed._

 _I locked eyes with him, and put on the best smile that I could for him- bloody or not. I tried to convey to him the love that I felt towards him with my eyes. I placed my hand on his cheek and weakly tried to wipe away his tears with my thumb. He put his hand over mine and leaned into my touch. He looked at me in the eyes the best that he could with the tears blocking his view. A strange peaceful feeling was starting to wash over me as we stared at one another. He knew exactly what was happening._

 _"I love you." He said. The words were strangled, as though he couldn't get them out fast enough. As though, they were all he could think of that might be able to describe what we had shared. "I love you, I love you." He said over and over. The words echoed around my head. It was the only thing that my brain could process anymore. Despite my body quickly growing cold, those words seemed to warm me up._

 _And I knew that I could never truly leave him._

* * *

I woke up gasping for air. I tried to gather the remnants of my dream before they could fade on me once more. It was no use though, and soon the only thing that I could remember were beautiful blue eyes. I couldn't remember who they belonged to, if the person was male or female, or even my opinion of the person. All I knew was that those genuine eyes were extremely important to me.

I looked outside the only window in my room, directly beside my soft bed. It was still dark outside, but the darkness was beginning to grow lighter.

I sat up from my spot under my covers. I had worked up a sweat while I had been dreaming. It must have been a bad dream. And yet, even though I couldn't remember what I had been dreaming about, I knew that the dream _felt_ extremely real. Almost as though I had lived it instead of dreamt it up.

With I sigh, I got out of my bed. There wasn't a chance of getting back to sleep now. I got dressed, slipping on my aquamarine tunic then my lilac-purple pants. I grabbed a white rope that was two fingers thick and tied it around my waist, just above my hips. I looked at my matching lilac colored hat in my hands. Ever since I could remember, I've had this hat. It successfully covered my entire head, hiding what I noticed no one else in my village had. I was rather grateful for my hat, not knowing what others would think if they ever saw me without it. I already knew what they'd do with rumors of me without my hat on.

I slowly pulled a brush through my long, lilac-colored hair until it was freed of any knots. Once my hair was put in a loose braid behind my head, I put my brush down and put on my hat. It was a long hat, that stopped at my hips. The inside was lined with furs, and it covered most of my forehead so that it wouldn't fall off. It had two perfect bunny-eared shaped spots at the top of it that suited me perfectly. I turned towards my bedroom door and headed towards the kitchen.

The first thing that I did was start a fresh pot of tea. I sat and watched the kettle over the fire, poking it every once in a while with a stick to keep the flames hot. It didn't take long for the wonderful aroma of the tea to permeate the house. I happily hummed to myself a tune that I seemed to know and yet not know at the same time.

"Elena, dear, you couldn't sleep?"

I turned towards the voice, mildly surprised to hear it so early in the morning, before I smiled in reply.

"Botan Ficus, how are you today?" I asked him with a smile, avoiding the question directed at me.

He was an old man who had been injured. Moon and I decided that it would be alright if he joined us where we lived for a little while until he was healed enough to leave on his own again. He wore a beat up old mask that had green tree leaves attached to it. The leave made it look as though the mask had hair if you saw it from afar. Botan had come to use a cane to help him walk as he recovered.

"I am alright." he said with a soothing voice. He had sat down at the small tea table in the kitchen, and looked at the flames under my pot of tea.

"That's good." I said, and looked back to the flames myself. "How do you think the villagers are?"

Botan sighed, holding onto his staff a little tighter at the thought of his village. He was the priest for a long time for that village. They had settled just below a very old and large tree. The very same that called home.

I then amended my thought; Botan _was_ the priest. A man name Saul had recently decided that _he_ should to be high priest of the village. In order to get the title, Saul tried to kill poor Botan Ficus. Saul had thrown the old man down the side of a mountain's cliff to try and get the job done. When Moon saw that Botan had survived, even though he was greatly hurt, he decided to bring him to live in the tree with us. I had already been living with Moon for the past six years or so.

Before I met Moon I had been living in the same village as Botan. But when I turned six years old, the people of the village had abandoned me in the forest. They left me to fend for myself. Maybe it was because I had discovered that I could create portals from the energy in my body that they left me. Maybe it was because I didn't belong to anyone. Or maybe it was because I looked nothing like any of the other people on this island. Either way, I had been done for. That is, until Moon found me.

We've lived together ever since.

"I can only hope that they are getting along fine with Saul as their leader. All that he wishes for is power. I fear that... he may come after our dear Moon God soon as well." Botan gave a heavy sigh. I frowned and looked at the old man, opening a portal for the tea that had finally boiled and moved the entire pot out of the flames and onto the table.

"Even if he did come after Moon, there's no way that Saul would be able to get his power." I stated firmly, pouring the tea into two separate cups. I passed one over to Botan and the other I kept for myself.

"Yes..." Botan said after a long pause, taking a long sip of his tea. "Perhaps you are right..."

"Of course I am!" I said with a smile. "I _always_ am."

A few moments later I heard another greeting. I looked over to the entrance of the kitchen and spotted Moon. Moon is a small little monkey who carried around a hammer. I'm not sure how a little monkey like him got hold of a hammer like that to begin with, but it is the source of his strength. It's whats kept him alive for so long too. In truth, despite Moon's youthful appearance for a monkey, he is quite old. Older than just a few centuries, I am told.

"Good morning Moon," I greeted with a smile. He chattered at me before hopping up onto the table and wiping the sleep from his eyes. I smirked at him. "Still tired are you?"

I glanced outside and saw that the sun had now risen high in the air. For the rest of that morning, I helped out Botan with his injuries before going out to collect fruits for the rest of the day. I climbed up to the roof of the house where a large totem stood tall. Using my portals to get me higher, I only stopped when I reached the very top. I looked over the entire island from my high perch and I smiled sadly. Eventually, I would need to leave this place.

I _hated_ the idea of leaving Moon- he is what saved me and kept me alive for many years. But... I knew that I didn't belong here. I felt as though I was supposed to be somewhere else, with _someone_ else.

My mind suddenly flashed to the striking blue eyes from my could they belong to? Surely, such mesmerizing eyes had to have a lovely face to go with them? I let out a sigh, my head starting to pound in a painful way whenever I tried to focus on who those eyes belonged to. My only fear was that someday, I'd forget about those eyes completely like the rest of my dreams. That single thought seemed to be _more_ terrifying to me than the day I had found out that I was on my own in that forest, abandoned.

Shaking my head, I brought myself out of my thoughts and looked around. The sun had risen higher in the sky as I had been lost in my thoughts. I frowned then, as something caught my eye. There seemed to be something in the distance that was reflecting the sun.

I squinted my eyes at it. The white sail of a ship came into sight, followed by a broken wooden mast. My eyes widened when my mind finally registered the ship. I quickly began to make blue portals appear in front of me. Stepping into one, I appeared out of the other. Before I could fall to my death, I quickly made a second set of shimmering portals appear in order to catch me and propel me forwards.

I knew how unfriendly the villagers were to strangers. That is, after all, the reason why there were so few strangers that visited the island to begin with. Once, I was told that maps wouldn't even have the island on it.

Then I remembered how there had been a storm last night. There were tornado's forming in the sea around the island. The only reason I knew of them was because of how Moon and I liked to stay up at night. We usually layed down on top of the totem that grew on top of my tree-house in order to watch the stars together. We had watched as multiple tornado's suddenly form last night. I had voiced my concern to Moon, for any travelers that might have gotten caught up in it jokingly. I hadn't thought that travelers might _actually_ get caught.

With a smile forming on my face, I felt my hands heat up with energy again. Without really thinking about it, I hadn't taken very long to reach the area where I had seen the boat. I made a portal next to the top of a tall tree and landed on one of it's many branches.

The ship came in silently, following the current of the water unquestioningly. It had begun to hit rocks with it's metal prow as it went. I didn't see any movement on the dock. There was no crew. There was no captain. No one was guiding the ship as it followed the strongest water currents.

After a few minutes of continued silence, I grew curious. Making a portal appear where I wanted to land first, I silently made a portal just in front of me. I easily stepped through my blue portal and landed on the deck of the deserted ship only a moment later. My feet had barely made any noise at all as I moved.

Looking around, I noticed that the deck wasn't nearly as empty as I had originally thought. There were broken pieces of wooden floor boards scattered about. The mast had fallen down, looking as though it were snapped in half somehow. My eyes widened when I saw that it seemed to have landed on top of someone. I grabbed the mast and moved it so that it was no longer crushing the person underneath it. Then I helped out the knocked out person so that he was in the middle of the deck. He seemed to be an old man, with a long white beard. He was clutching a golden shovel in his left hand.

As I looked around more carefully, I saw that he wasn't the only one who had been buried. It looked like the entire crew was on deck after all. I repeated the process of fetching the people four more times. When I was done, five people were quietly resting on the boat of the deck. The second person that I helped out was a young woman with blond hair and pointy ears. Beside her was a man with flaming red hair. He had been holding a sword with a single eye that has been watching me quietly from the beginning. It's blade was probably what had caught my attention from so far away. As I had moved to the hull of the ship, I helped out a woman who wore a green outfit of leaves. Her hair was the same shade of green as her outfit. Leaves were also wrapped around her ankles and wrists. I wondered how these plant's hadn't died yet and looked rather healthy. Beside her was a boy in blue. He had the same type of hat as me, making me even more curious about these people.

Once everyone was in the middle of the deck, I proudly put my hands on my hips. I was glad that I was able to help out at least a little. No one seemed to be very hurt- the most injury they had were a few bruises. Then I noticed that the sword was still staring at me. Was it a Shushu? I had heard about those from Botan as a passing idea to get back at Saul.

I looked back at the boy in blue and studied him for a long while, taking in his features. He looked around the same age as me. I felt as though I had seen him somewhere before... but I knew that I'd never met him. His clothes were very similar to what I wore, but all blue. Only his shirt was yellow and it had a pocket in it where I saw something move.

Curious, I crouched down to see what was in his pocket. I moved my hand slowly and watched the boy's face as I grabbed the soft thing that was in there. Removing it, I saw that it was a small, round bird. I had never seen this kind on the island.

I had never seen this many different type of _people_ outside of the village in general. The idea made me a little giddy. These people came with no opinions of me. They might even be possible friends that I could make.

The little yellow bird moved around in my hand. It snuggled cutely against my thumb. As it moved, I noticed a blue feather on its tail and wondered if that was there a moment ago.

The little bird's eyes suddenly opened tiredly. It locked eyes with me and I gave it a warm smile. Not a moment later and the little bird's eyes suddenly became two large saucers. It shot out of my hand like a bullet, chirping wildly. I heard the sword laugh loudly from it's position on the deck of the ship. I couldn't help but chuckle as I watched the little bird fly around my head in repetitive circles. Then I noticed that the five people on the deck had started to stir because of the noise that the bird was making. At that I grew quiet.

I took a step back from them, not really sure what to expect if they suddenly saw me on their ship. I looked to the boy who wore similar clothing as me one last time before I panicked. I quickly threw a portal to somewhere in the distance and made a second one near my feet. I quickly hopped into it, and appeared on the branch of a nearby tree. From there, I watched what was happening on the ship.

Each person got up respectively, groggily. The boy who had had the bird in his pocket grabbed the bird from the air, as though he were silencing an alarm clock. It's chirping died down instantly, but the little bird looked as though it was trying to tell him something. The old man started to run around the deck, trying to repair it. The rest of them made their way off of the ship the moment that it touched the beach. They had begun to explore the forest. Knowing that they were still a long ways from the village, I decided to go back and see Moon.

He had to know about my crazy morning.


	2. Moon and Sun

When I arrived back at the tree, Moon was happy to see me. He chattered about and climbed up onto my shoulder excitedly. It made me giggle as his tail wrapped itself around my neck protectively, tickling me. Usually, Moon carried his hammer with his tail but he was currently holding it in his hand since he was on my shoulders. My portal closed behind me and I smiled at my monkey companion.

"Moon! You'll never believe what I saw this morning!" I stated happily, walking back into our tree house with Moon. He chittered questionably and I laughed, "No I promise it wasn't anything bad!" And I proceeded to tell him how I saw a ship with travelers on it. He seemed interested in what I said, and that only made my smile grow wider.

By the time that I was done talking, Moon and I had already finished eating a wonderful fruity lunch with Botan. Once we were done, Moon decided that we should play tag. He tugged on my arm for only a moment before using the super-strength that his hammer provided him with to speed away out of my sight. A large grin grew on my face and I made my portals. Jumping through them constantly, I eventually caught up to Moon. Poking the little monkey in the chest, I giggled before he could catch me and spun away from his reach, calling upon my portals to help with my escape.

Like that, Moon and I spent the rest of our day chasing one another around the island. We avoided both the beach and the area around the village, knowing that our game would be interrupted if we went either one of those locations. Instead we hung out near the tree house and the vast forests surrounding the island. Eventually the sun began to paint the sky gold while simultaneously making the shadows in the forest grow long. Deciding that we were done for the day, Moon and I made our way back to our house.

I had a scowl on my face though. Just as the sun began to go down, Moon had caught me. Now the little brown monkey had a crazy smile on his face as he danced around by my feet. He knew that he had won that day's round of tag-and-hide. Once he saw me pouting though, Moon was quick to scramble up to my shoulder. He pressed his face against mine and cooed while petting my hair affectionately- It was as though he knew my exact train of thought. The action only served to make me irritated, despite the warmth I got from his attention. I could never stay mad long when it came to Moon.

"Don't you worry Moon, I'll get you tomorrow." I stated, holding my head up high and crossing my arms in front of me. Just as Moon was about to chatter to me in reply, he looked over to the village, suddenly going still. I looked too, and saw that he was being summoned by the villagers. There were two great flames that were alight in the village and they glowed with a fierce golden glow in the dark of the evening.

"Is it that time already?" I asked, looking up into the sky. Usually the villagers would call Moon down from the tree house every full moon. He'd go down the tree and the villagers would give him enough food for the both of us. We usually stored it for the winter months, where the plants would no longer bloom. I was never sure as to why the village did this, but it had helped us out in the winter- more times than I could count. Looking up at the moon now though, it was only half full.

From my shoulder, Moon gave me another pat on the head before he hopped down. Moon dragged his hammer along behind him, his tail wrapped around the handle, and quickly disappeared into the shadows of the night. I didn't wait too long before I finally turned and went back to the house. As I walked, I found myself staring blankly up at the fading sky and wondering why the villagers would call for Moon so early.

"Elena."

I turned to the sound of my name and smiled when I noticed that it was just Botan Ficus. "Hello!" I greeted, giving the elderly man a smile as I approached. "How was the rest of your day? Did your injuries heal up nicely yet?"

"Yes, I believe that they have, my dear." He said and I could hear the smile in his voice. He walked slowly, but I could tell that he was much better than when Moon had first found him. "And my day was fine, thank you for asking."

I nodded and looked outside, noticing how the stars were now out. Glancing at Botan, I took a small step backwards, away from the entrance of the tree house. I was about to speak to the elder when he suddenly put up a hand to stop me, shaking his head. I gave him a small smile before I waved him goodnight and opened a portal. It was a nightly routine for me to go up to the roof at night with Moon. I was glad that Botan understood and hadn't tried to keep me in house.

A few minutes later and I was on the tallest peak of the entire island- the very top of the tree that Moon and I lived in. It was a little odd, but sprouting out from the trunk of the tree was a very large and sturdy totem. The totem sprouted a couple hundred feet into the air and I helped Moon build stairs that went to the very top of that totem a long time ago. I could see every inch of island from my spot at the top of it and considered this to be the tallest peak of the island because of it.

A few years ago I had planted a tree at the very top of the sky totem. Now, that little sapling had grown into a rather large tree and I was already in the process of making hammock. When it's finally done, I'll be able to hang it between the tree's large and sturdy branches so Moon and I could enjoy the stars at our leisure. I layed down on my back with my hands behind my head and sighed.

I loved the stars. Moon and I would spend hours upon hours up here simply watching them. I've considered trying to use my portals to get to them, but I could never seem to throw them far enough away from me to try. I figured that as my body grows, the power of my portals would too. Eventually I would reach the stars with my own hands.

Sometimes, if I'd stare at the stars for long enough, I'd feel a deep longing in my chest. It'd hurt, enough to bring tears to my eyes and make my body go numb. It gave me the feeling that my real home just might be among those stars instead of the World of Twelve. I didn't know what I'd do if that were true. I didn't know how to reach the stars, I had no way of reaching them either, and I couldn't just leave Moon behind by himself. That little monkey was the most family that I have ever had in my life.

And yet, at the very same time, I felt like someday I'd have to leave.

Just as I had made that thought, I heard the distant sound of a yell. I sat up as the, now constant, shout was coming closer by the second. Curious, I climbed up my tree and looked down the totem to the branches of the tree beneath it. I felt my mouth swing slightly open as I witnessed Moon dragging a person behind him with his hands. The poor person was banging the back of their head on the wooden stairs that climbed to the top of the totem as Moon dragged them along behind him.

When Moon stopped just a few feet away from me, I hopped down. The person hadn't noticed me yet as I blinked, still surprised that Moon would drag someone along like that. A memory of Moon trying to do something similar to me suddenly came to the forefront of my mind and my shock seemed to dissipate slowly. The person groaned, sitting up, and my eyes shot to them instantly.

I noted that the person was a girl, a teen really. With a slight bit of shock I recognized her as one of the people that had been on the wrecked ship. Her long green hair reached the middle of her back, and two ditzy flowers were on a headband in her hair. I suspected that her beautiful olive-toned skin would have been flawless if it weren't for her trip with Moon up the tree. Then I noticed how she had thick ropes tied around her wrists and ankles, binding them together. It looked rather uncomfortable.

Before I could say anything, the girl yelled in alarm, closing her eyes tight and thrusting her arms out despite them being tied together. Moon had leapt up at her, and had begun to easily untie her with the use of his sharp canines. Moon jumped off of her as soon as she was free and the rope was cast off beside her. The teen grew quiet. Opening her golden brown eyes she looked from her now unbound wrists to Moon, who was staring up at her curiously. Again, just as I was about to speak, I was interrupted by the teen yelling once more.

"You bully! You thug! Monkey head! That's not how you treat a princess!" the green-haired teen yelled out and Moon chittered before running to me and climbing up onto my shoulder. "Bully! You're lucky you're so small!"

"Hey!" I snapped, making her stop. I gave her a small glare, not liking how Moon now hid behind my head as he peaked out at her. "No need to be so mean, Moon was just helping you out."

She blinked and looked me over. She had an odd look on her face as she regarded me, as though she were thinking of someone else. Then her eyes spotted Moon peaking out from behind my hat.

"Wha- when did you get here?" She asked, making me frown. Moon had just untied her, she wasn't even going to thank him? Then she looked around and gasped, her eyes going wide at the sight of the island under the blanket of the stars. "It's incredible...!"

Moon hopped down from my shoulders and grabbed a small red flower that had been growing nearby. He set his hammer down beside me and climbed up on the green-haired girl, putting it in her hair as an apology.

"Thank you." the girl blushed and my opinion of her became a little better.

"How come your here?" I asked curiously, going to stand next to this girl. She had to be older than me by a few years because she was much taller than me. My head easily came to just over her elbows, letting her tower over me. I silently told myself that I still had growing to do.

The girl sighed at my question.

"I was traveling on a ship with my friends. But we got caught up in a storm last night." the girl said, biting her lower lip. I glanced up at her. "We must have gotten sucked into that tornado that I saw, because the next thing that I knew I was waking up on the deck of the ship with my friends, the ship bumping into this island. We went to look for food and were captured by the Sedida's that live here... and I think they're planing on hurting my friends.

"I'm really worried for them, and as much as I like this view, I know that I have to go and help my friends. That masked monster down there is keeping them prisoner and I'm really worried as to what he's going to do to them." She looked down sadly at the trees far below us, towards the village. The glow of their fires hadn't died down yet and easily illuminated the large gates that lead up to the tree house.

I tilted my head in contemplation. My opinion of this teen had changed once more; she really cared for her friends and that made my heart beat a little stronger. I glanced over at Moon, who was still on her shoulder and saw that he seemed to have a liking towards her. It was rare for him, to like someone so quickly. I watched as the teen's expression steadily turned from worried and sad to a steady determination. It looked as though she was ready to face anything to help her friends out.

After a moment of silence, Moon chittered and I nodded my head.

"Alright then," I said, giving the green-haired teen a smile. "Why don't we go see if Botan is ready then, huh?" I looked up at Moon who chattered in agreement. She gave the both of us odd looks, making me laugh. With a smile I felt my hands heat up with the pulse of my magic. I made two portals with my hands, seemingly surprising the green-haired teen who gasped, and hopped through them. Only a moment later, I heard the poor teen's screaming in between my portal jumping, and I knew that Moon had grabbed her hand again in order to drag her down the tree.

I arrived a good minute or two before Moon and smirked down at him, knowing that I had won this round. Moon chittered, looking slightly upset that I had cheated, and the commotion seemed to bring Botan to the window. The green-haired teen only groaned as she sat up again, making Moon grow quiet.

"You really need to stop dragging me around like that if you want us to be friends..." she said, and I almost snorted. There was no way that she was fast enough to keep up with Moon and I, which was why Moon had been dragging her around in the first place. I heard Botan chuckle, which brought the teen's attention to him. I had covered my mouth with my hand to try and hide my smile before I looked over to Botan myself.

"Well, well, well." Botan chuckled, "It looks like our little God has brought a little friend to our dinner tonight."

The teen stood up on her feet suddenly and waved her fist at the masked old man. "Hey Kanniball, I'll make you really regret kidnapping me!" She yelled back, making me laugh. I couldn't fight my smile anymore and simply put down my hand as I skipped my way into the tree house.

"Come on," I said with a wave of my hand over my shoulder, "We have some herbal tea that will calm you down."

Moon followed me into the house and she followed after silently. We went into the living room and sat around a small fire pit. Botan had already brought out a tea pot with herbal tea in it, as he usually does in the evenings. This time though, he had an extra tea cup ready, as though he knew that the teen was coming. I suppose her screams weren't very subtle...

"My name is Botan Ficus," Botan said calmly as he handed over a cup filled with herbal tea to the teen. He then gestured to Moon and I, "And these are my humble hosts, Moon and Elena."

"It's nice to meet you," the green-haired girl said, blowing on the tea before taking a sip. "My name is Princess Amalia Sheran Sharm of the Sedida Kingdom. I've come here traveling with my four friends, Evangeline of the Cra, Rule the Enutrof, Sir Percedal the Iop of Sadlygrove and Yugo, with his little Tofu bird, Az." She took another sip of her tea before putting it down and staring into her coconut cup sadly. "We're traveling in search of Yugo's family, and we were well on our way before we got caught up in that storm last night. When we were searching for food in the jungle, we got captured by the Sedida's that live here. Now, I'm very worried for my friends and hope that nothing bad has happened to them..."

Moon then grabbed Amalia's cup and brought it back to Botan to fill up once more, making the princess smile. I noticed that my own tea was gone and passed it to the elder as well. Once the princess's cup was filled, Moon brought it back to her, chittering to her softly.

"Ah, Moon." Amalia said with a smile of thanks before looking between me and Botan almost shyly. "What a funny little monkey..."

"My people have worshiped him for hundreds of years." Botan stated, making Amelia look up at him from Moon in surprise.

"Hundreds of years? But no animals can live that long...!" Amalia said, making me smile proudly at Moon.

"Maybe," I said gaining Amalia's attention, "But his magic hammer gives him powers, see. Despite his appearance, Moon is very strong!"

Moon chattered happily at that, He made fists with his hands and held them up above his shoulders as though he were making muscles. Then he walked in a circle with a serious face. I laughed at his antics and Amalia joined in once she noticed what Moon was doing.

"He's not the danger on this island." Botan then said with an amused tone to his voice. His voice then turned cold as he mentioned his enemy. "Saul The Crooked, is an evil and power-hungry being that's as smart as a monkey." Botan's voice grew grim and our laughter was quickly quieted as Botan told us how Moon found him. "Saul tricked me, then trapped me in the void of the highest cliff on the island. It would have been a fatal fall if I hadn't been able to summon some leaves to cushion it, thanks to Sadida. That's when Moon found me and brought me to live here with him and Elena, until my injuries heal. Without them, I would have been pushing up ditzy flowers... I now wait for the moment when I can challenge Saul once more."

"My friends could help us!" Amalia suddenly said, getting my attention. I smiled at the thought of finally helping out Botan. He wouldn't be nearly as worried for his people if he could finally challenge Saul...

Amalia then looked over at Moon, "But Moon has to let me go so that I can warn them."

"I can take you down to the village," I said with a smile and Moon looked between me and Amalia sadly. I pet him on the head softly as he crawled onto my lap, "Don't worry, Moon! I promise to be careful!"

"It would seem that Sadida is with us," Botan mused, "When his belly is full, our friend is pretty easy to convince, and I think he likes you a lot too. If you ask him nicely, Amalia, I'm sure he'll help."

I nodded my confirmation only a moment before realizing that Moon had fallen asleep on my lap, a citronana peel on his furry chest. I giggled and scratched the fur on Moon's belly, watching with amusement as his tail twitched before his hand swatted mine away. Moon opened his eyes and yawned cutely before rubbing his eyes. I smiled at Amalia and she nodded before facing Moon.

"Moon, can you help me and my friends defeat Saul?" Amalia asked, and it was a moment or two before Moon replied. He chittered happily and hopped up, grabbing Amalia's hand. I saw her eyes go wide as she realized what was about to happen. "Wai-" She tried to say, but Moon was already dragging her off.

I laughed and stood up, crating a few portals to follow when I looked back at Botan. He shook his head before waving me along.

"I'll follow at my own pace." He said calmly and I nodded.

I hopped through my portals and made my way down the tree and to the village. Moon was going to arrive before me this time. I looked around, seeing how much the village has changed since I left. Then I spotted Moon just a little ways from me on Amalia's shoulder. Just beside her, I saw the boy that wore blue clothing that was similar to mine and the beautiful blonde lady from the ship. They were both tied up to posts but they were getting the ropes untied by the small round bird. If I remembered correctly, Amalia had said that the little bird was a Tofu and that it's name was Az.

In front of Amalia and Moon was a crowd of villagers who had been knocked over. The old man and the orange haired man from the ship were sitting in the middle of the fallen villagers. The orange haired one held up the sword with a single eye and looked at it with excitement.

"I must be getting stronger than I thought!" He said, amazement in his voice. The old man stood up beside him, shaking his head.

"Afraid not, my dear Iop. I believe that that helping hand came from our dear Amalia." he said with a smile in her direction. Amalia gave a small shy smile and Moon caught his hammer, which I assumed he had thrown first, in order to knock the villagers down in the first place.

"It must be related to my powers, but I can't stand having my hands tied," the boy in similar clothes as mine spoke up, watching Moon in fascination while rubbing his wrists. He and the woman beside him were now untied. I spotted the large bell on top of the tower and remembered how the village would use it to call meetings in the square. With a smile I spotted the cliff that they would gather at.

"Amalia!" I called out, making everyone look over at me. "I'll call everyone here, you and your friends should get to that cliff there." I pointed to the cliff before making my portals and hopping through them to the bell.

For some reason, as soon as my portal opened, I heard a collective gasp come from the group that Amalia traveled with. I didn't let that bother me too much, since it must be surprising the first time that you see someone open up a portal in general- I had noticed long ago that none of the villagers seemed to hold the same ability as me. It must be rare or something.

Once I got to the bell, I couldn't hear what the group was saying. But I did catch the eye of the boy in blue. I was too far away to see the color of his eyes, but they seemed to be familiar to me somehow. Neither of us looked away from one another, not even noticing that we were staring until he was shaken by the red haired man with the sword. Didn't the old man call that one a Iop?

Shaking my head from the odd trance that I had been in, I turned to the bell and started to ring it. I saw villagers' heads appear out of windows and doors of their homes, looking around curiously before making their way to the gathering cliff. The villagers who had been knocked out, came-to groggily, before making their own way to the cliff, sitting down tiredly and facing it.

When I was satisfied that all the villagers had heard the bell and were making their way to the cliff, I opened my portals again and made my way to the cliff myself. When I got there, I landed just beside the group, glad to see that they were already here. I couldn't help but laugh when I noticed that Moon had decided to sit on top of Amalia's head proudly, his hammer at her feet. This made the others look at me in slight surprise.

"Once everyone's here, you can talk to them." I said with a smile, addressing Amalia. She nodded, looking back over the cliff as I was suddenly surrounded by her friends.

"I'm Sir Percedal of Sadly growth!" The Iop yelled out before his sword started to laugh at him.

"My name is Rule and this is the lovely Evangeline." The old man said, then pointed at the blond lady.

"I'm Yugo! It's nice to meet you!" The boy in blue said.

I just barely said my name in return before they started to ask me questions all at once, making me a little flustered. All I could catch from their questions were the words said most often: 'portal', 'family', 'Yugo' and 'how'.

"Woah, hey... Don't touch the hat." I responded when I felt a slight tug on my hat. My hands flew up to my head to make sure that it stayed on. Not even Moon could see what was under my hat. Suddenly the group went silent, looking at me expectantly. Then I realized that they were probably waiting for me to answer their questions. I gave them a sheepish chuckle. "How about one question at a time...?"

Before they could ask me any more questions though, Amalia suddenly began to address the crowd of villagers that had gathered at the bottom of the cliff. The group looked from me to Amalia before taking up positions beside her so that they could see what was going on. I caught Moon smiling at me before I felt another gaze on me. I turned my head to the side, noticing that Yugo was standing just a little ways from me, looking at me sideways too.

Our eyes locked and I could now see that his eyes were a beautiful azure color. I felt my heart give a jolt and my eyes widened in shock. Warmth shot up my spine and the only thing that I could see properly were his azure eyes. Slowly his eyes grew wide, as though the same striking familiarity occurred to him too.

We simply stood there, staring at one another. Why did I feel as though I knew him? Simply thinking his name seemed to make my body tremble. I wanted to go to him. I wanted to hold him close, tell him everything about me that I could think of and ignore everything that _wasn't_ him. I wanted to listen to every word he had to say about himself. My heart stuttered again, before beating faster in my chest. A heart-wrenching longing hit me in the gut. It was so familiar to how I felt after a dream would fade from my thoughts that tears almost threatened to prick at my eyes. It made me feel as though I couldn't breathe as the feeling stole the breath from my lungs.

I blinked, sucking in a sharp breath. I couldn't seem to look away from Yugo's eyes. Then, like nothing had happened, the world came out of it's haze around me. I could suddenly hear Amalia speaking just in front of us and I could see the red headed Iop shuffling his feet just behind Yugo.

Yugo's eyes looked glassy, but as he blinked, they slowly seemed to focus again. Had he gone through a similar experience as me? But then I saw the confusion in his expression. He looked me in the eyes again and there I saw the same question that I was thinking;

 _What just happened?_


	3. Kanniballs

"People of the Sadida, we are here to help you!" I heard Amailia call out to the villagers. They had all gathered at the bottom of the cliff that I was standing on, along with all of Amalia's friends. "Your high priest is an evil man, who is using you in his quest for power! Your true leader is Botan Ficus and contrary to what Saul has told you, he isn't dead! He'll soon be here, and now that we've ridden you of that bad apple Saul, you'll be able to resume normal lives!"

As she said this I felt a movement behind me. I Looked to my right where Yugo was standing not too far from me, then to my left, seeing the rest of Amalia's group of friends. Each person was listening closely to what Amalia had to say, not looking away from the crowd gathered below.

"This calls for a Sadida party!" Amalia finished and my attention reverted back to her.

A moment after Amalia had spoken, lightning suddenly appeared in the clouds above. The ground started to shake and the totems that were made for Moon started to crumble. Then, with a flash of blinding white light, I felt my body being pulled somewhere. I had to close my eyes tightly to not go blind.

I felt a cold hand clamp around my mouth, an arm had snaked around my waist and was now holding me up. A sharp wind was tugging against my clothes and whipping my hair. My hands were somehow pinned against my back, making a panicked feeling wash over me. The flash of light soon died down enough for me to risk opening up my eyes and I didn't like what I saw.

Amalia and her friends had been knocked down to the ground, Yugo was the only one who had yet to get up and I saw that Moon was beside him, hissing angrily in my direction. Slightly confused, I turned my head to see the mask of Saul on the person who was holding me up. I could feel a laugh build up in his chest before he let it out, sounding madder than I have ever heard a person sound before. Then my eyes landed on a familiar object that Saul was holding up proudly with his right hand.

My eyes quickly darted back to Moon with worry as I noted how his hammer was now missing.

"The power!" Saul laughed, sending creepy chills down my spine as I now noticed that there is a pillar of green light that's surrounding both Saul and I. "I've been waiting years for this moment! You shouldn't leave your things lying around like that, little monkey!"

I heard my name being called and looked over to the group once more. My eyes easily found Moon and I saw that he was snarling angrily at Saul. I then saw Yugo say something before Percedal ran off to the houses of the villagers- who had scattered at the sight of the lightning.

"You miserable fools shall pay for this insult." Saul said, glaring after Percedal. Saul didn't even turn around as he addressed someone behind him, "Go Double! Make sure that fool doesn't meddle in my business." I looked down and hand to blink twice because it looked as though Saul's shadow was moving of it's own accord. Then Saul brought his attention back to the group of travelers in front of us. "I'll deal with you while I wait. Who wants to go first?"

I felt Saul's grip on me slacken, and I took that moment to swing my legs forwards. The sudden weight of my body going forwards seemed to catch Saul off guard, making him stumble forwards as I spotted Moon race towards me and Saul. At the last moment Saul caught himself and raised Moon's hammer laughing crazily.

"Bow to the new power of Saul!" He said, and a tower of totems were called forth.

Unfortunately, Moon was slammed right into the brunt of the attack, and my eyes widened in shock for my little friend. I called out to Moon, but the hand over my mouth kept my words muddled. I breathed a sigh of relief when I saw Amalia summon forth a dandelion that caught Moon and stopped him from slamming into the ground in pain. I heard someone in the group yell something about the totems but I was too focused on Moon to really pay attention to what they said.

"Exactly," Saul suddenly said, making my gaze turn to him in a glare. "And now that magic is mine! You won't dare attack me again, little monkey. I have your pet and she's going to get it if you don't behave!"

As soon as Saul said that, I felt a terrible burning start to encase my body as the hammer seemed to give off another surge of new energy. It felt as though I had stepped into a raging fire, and I couldn't contain the pain. I started to thrash about as I yelled out in pain, my eyes screwed shut. I heard my name being called worriedly before Saul said something about a brat.

I felt the familiar heat of my magic in my hands as I tried to force myself to make a portal. I could only feel my hands get cooled from the burning sensation instead. Instantly my mind focused on that cooling sensation from the heat of the hammers power. I felt a small tug in my gut as I called on my magic again. With a sigh I felt my body begin to cool down as my magic spread out over my body to protect me. My senses seemed to sharpen as this happened and I soon found that I could hear things that I previously couldn't.

The first thing that caught my attention was the conversation between the group about how they should focus on getting the hammer away from Saul before trying to help me. Then there was the scattering of the villagers as they gathered their things before fleeing deeper into the forest. There was even a second battle over head as someone ran across the ropes that held the houses of the villagers suspended in the air.

I opened my eyes, hearing the attack coming Saul's way before it could be seen.

Rule, had held out his shovel and thrown it at Saul like a deadly boomerang. Saul quickly used Moon's hammer to knock it away and the shovel flew off into the village. As if that was exactly what the old man had planned, the shovel easily chopped through some ropes- making multiple houses crash down around Saul and I- before it was caught by Rule once more.

I heard the creak of another rope about to give out from directly above us and tensed. I heard the sound of something falling through the air a moment before Evangeline yelled out at Yugo to follow her. She ran in the direction of the falling object, making me curious to what it was. Rule tried to stop them, but they had already left by the time he called out.

"Come on, show me what your made of!" Saul taunted as Evangeline caught the object just out of my vision before bending down with it. It was a bow and she made arrows of light appear as she drew back the string, aiming for Saul.

"I told you it's no use!" Saul said as my eyes widened in shock as I noticed the arrows get absorbed by a portal.

A portal that I hadn't made.

My eyes darted back to Yugo who made a second portal, shooting the arrows at the ropes holding up a house just above where Saul stood. My eyes widened in shock, not having expected to meet someone else who can use the portals like me. When did Yugo learn to do that? Or has he always been able to do it?

Saul's grip on me tightened as he realized what the group was doing. He slammed Moon's hammer to the ground, making a large dust cloud as a totem materialized to attack the group. As I watched I realized that Yugo's earlier observation was probably correct. The power that the hammer provides the user _is_ rather similar to our portals.

At the moment that Saul moved, I finally got my hands free from behind me. I felt the rush of cold air sting my wrists as the audible snap of a rope sounded from behind me, but ignored it in favor of focusing on freeing myself. I used the cloud of dust that had picked up from when the totem was created to my advantage.

I grabbed Saul's hand over my mouth with my own and bit down as hard as I could. He yelled out in pain as he threw me aside, where I landed on top of my awaiting portal. A second later and he had summoned a totem in my place in attempt to crush me with it's weight.

I reappeared next to the group who had been pushed back by the first totem that Saul had created to attack them. They hadn't noticed me yet, their attention on the house hanging by an almost completely severed rope. Percedal and a shadow creature were barely holding onto the house as they dangled beneath it.

"You almost got him." I said, hit by a sudden exhaustion as my magic stopped protecting all of my body. That was the first time that I've ever used my magic like that after all, my body mustn't be used to it yet.

The group only had a moment to look over at me, surprise and relief on their faces as they spotted me, before Saul started to yell at us.

"Your finished now!" He yelled out in anger, holding up Moon's hammer above his head. "By the power of the ancestral hammer!"

Evangeline looked back up to the house quickly and spotted Percedal. "Dally, cut the rope!" she yelled up at him, making me slightly confused, until I remembered that nicknames were a thing.

"Understood!" Dally said, yelling back down to us, "I just got to get rid of this sticky thingamajig first!"

Dally ended up throwing the shadow creature down and it landed on top of Saul, making the pillar of green light from the hammer disappear.

"There! A rope for Eva!" Dally yelled out happily, holing his sword up proudly as the house that he stood on plummeted with him on top of it.

I quickly called upon my magic once more. I made two portals and got Percedal out of harms way. I brought him back to his group of friends a moment before the house fell on top of Saul with a loud crash. Dally shook his head from the sudden portal hopping, crouching down and holding his stomach in pain as his face turned green.

"Eva, I'm not feeling... so good..." Dally said, looking up at the blond being addressed. A moment later Percedal had run off into the woods, holding his mouth like he was going to be sick.

I chuckled at that, my body feeling as though my limbs were lead. I was bending down with my hands on my knees, my eyes half closed as I worked on bringing my breathing back to normal. I observed mildly how my wrists were covered in my blood thanks to my yanking at the rope they were tied with. Then I noticed how my skin now matched Amalia's in color. It's amazing that I don't feel the pain from these burns just yet.

"Are you alright Elena?"

I looked over at Amalia who was looking at me with concern. I gave her a wicked smile, straightening up.

"'Course I am." I said, then looked over at Yugo, my smile not disappearing. "Since when could you use _portals_?!"

Before Yugo could respond, I looked to where the house hit Saul. Everyone else jumped as the power from the hammer was renewed a moment later and a pillar of green light- much stronger than the previous one- now encased Saul.

"Didn't feel a thing!" Saul laughed happily at us, and I heard Amalia growl from behind me.

"Oh yeah? Did you want some more?!" She yelled out, her hands glowing green before she touched the ground.

As soon as her hands touched the earth large green vines sprouted and shot towards Saul. The vines wrapped around his pillar of light but when they tried to get any closer, the power of the hammer would burn it away. I grimaced, thinking of that terrible pain the hammer's power had inflicted on me before I was able to deflect it- or protect myself?- and felt sorry for the vines that Amalia was conjuring. Saul only laughed though, his voice mocking as he called down on us.

"Some people will believe anything! Do you really think you can defeat a _God!?"_ He called and his body was lifted up into the air by the hammer's power. A strong gust of wind originating from the pillar shot out and threatened to knock the group of travelers and I over.

"Kanniballs, listen to me!" A voice called out and I immediately knew that Botan Ficus had shown up to help. I crouched down so that I had a lower center of gravity, making it harder for me to be blown over. "Do not be swayed by your fear. Together, we can rid ourselves of this usurper!"

Moon was crawling beside me, still giving Saul a dirty look, but not nearly as bad as the one he gave when Saul had me in his grip. Between Moon and I, Yugo had fallen down and was now sitting as he tried to go against the harsh winds. To my left Amalia wasn't giving up, still powering the vines with the green glow of her magic. Just beyond her were Rule, Evangeline and Dally who were braced against the wind in a similar fashion as me.

"Botan, you survived!" Saul called out before I heard him add on, "The annoying little squirt was right..."

Botan was standing on top of a rock, not too far away and Saul decided to shout at him in anger as Botan chased the dark clouds away.

"You would have been better off staying hidden!"

"You underestimate the strength of the Kanniball people, Saul!" Botan replied back, holding his cane like Dally did his sword when boasting to Eva earlier.

I took the moment to glace around and saw that the villagers had come out of their hiding spots and bowed down deeply, so that their foreheads were touching the grass while facing towards Saul. I suddenly felt a large wave of power emanate from Botan up on his rock, and turned to see that he had slammed his cane into the ground. The power that Botan had created seemed to flow out from his cane and into the ground. Like the roots of a tree, it connect to each of the bowing villagers. When the power connected to the villagers it seemed to grow three times in size before joining with Amalia's magic making her vines triple in both strength and size.

Amazed, I watched as the vines easily penetrated the pillar of light that Saul was in, grabbing both of his wrists and his legs. Maybe the power from Moon's hammer and the power that the villagers were generating were rather similar to one another too. The wind died down then but Saul only laughed.

"That's it? You really think you can hold me down with these bits of _string?"_ he scoffed, making me frown. Saul was pulling at the vines, and I could see them starting to tear despite how fast Amalia was making them grow back.

He wasn't going to stay restrained for long.

Moon moved in front of me, his fur all puffy from being on edge as he watched Saul's movements, his eyes followed the hammer. Yugo moved to a better sitting position and an idea occurred to me as I looked down at my hands.

"Moon, Yugo," I said, glancing at them but keeping my main focus on Saul. My voice was low so only Moon and Yugo could hear me clearly. Amalia was breathing heavy and I could tell that her strength was about to be used up. "I have an idea..."

A few minutes later, Yugo and I stood up, gaining Saul's attention for a moment. I heard Amalia let out a strained noise and glanced at Yugo.

"Moon!" Yugo yelled out, dashing forwards. I could hear the scowl in Saul's voice as he watched Moon and Yugo run at him, me close on their heals.

"Not you again kid!" Saul growled, annoyance in his voice. "You really are stupid!"

I gathered up as much magic as I could and directed it to my palms. I was ready to launch as many portals as I could within moments. I heard Amalia gasp as Saul finally broke free of the bonds and I felt my heart start to beat faster in anxiety.

We had to get this timing right.

"Now!" I called out and Yugo stopped running as Moon leapt up at Saul with his fangs bared menacingly.

"We'll see who's stupid...!" I heard Yugo mutter angrily as he gathered up his own magic energy beside me.

Saul brought the hammer forwards, sending a totem at us. I launched my portal at the same time that Yugo did. Before the totem could slam into Moon again, the two portals appeared simultaneously, one much larger than the other.

I had to use both my hands to control the larger portal. I caught the giant totem and planned to opened up a second one in an area that wouldn't harm anyone- the heart of the forest. The smaller portal was just large enough for Moon to fit. It absorbed Moon for a few moments before Yugo made the second portal aimed at Saul in a way that Moon could easily land on him.

There was a loud crash once I had absorbed all of the totem into my portal. A large dust cloud kicked up simultaneously where Moon crashed into Saul forcefully. I didn't pay them much attention though, as I put all of my focus into my second portal. Loud groans and creeks were heard in the distance as soon as my portal opened, and the large totem could be seen growing in the distance. As soon as it stopped moving I let out a sigh and released my portal, my hands flopping down to my sides tiredly.

As soon as I had let go, my head begun to feel light at the sudden loss of magic. I must have been pulling on a reserve of magic in my body or something because the conversation around me became muddled and I was starting to see double. Two Moon's had hopped up- with three hammers in his multiple arms- on top of Saul's unconscious bodies. A moment later and there were four separate totems going high into sky, Saul's body on each one, as two Moon's jumped around the growing totem's gleefully- like he was in some sort of ritual.

I shook my head to try and get rid of the double vision, only to make a dull ache- that I hadn't noticed was present- stronger. I then noticed that Yugo had probably said something to me by the look in his eyes. I looked at him, waiting a few seconds as he became a single person again.

He was waiting for an answer to something but my hearing was muddled in replacement of my double vision. It was as though I was underwater trying to catch words that are said to me from above the surface. I didn't know what Yugo had said, but I could guess what it was by the increasingly worried look that he was giving me as I simply stared blankly at him instead of answering.

"Hmm?" I said after a moment, shaking my head again and putting my hand on my head. "Yeah, I'm fine..." I muttered, looking away and noted how my warm hand did nothing to cool down my head.

Yugo said something else to me but I felt a wave of tiredness wash over me, my eyelids growing heavier by the second. That's when I felt a warm hand other than mine touch my forehead, making my head jerk up in surprise. My heart started to race in alarm and my hearing suddenly came back in a rush that made my head spin. I immediately drew upon my magic once more, not knowing I still had some left. It almost felt like my body was buzzing on the strength of the sudden magic.

My eyes locked with Yugo's for a moment in surprise and he backed away a step, his face going a little red and holding his hands up. I barely took notice of the slight pang my heart made when his touch left, making me feel a little colder.

"Sorry...! I didn't mean to startle you, just..." He looked back at me with his eyes full of concern, putting his hands back down slowly as he watched me carefully. "You look like your about to pass out."

"No," I said, shaking my head slightly to put emphasis to my words, "I'm fine, really."

Yugo gave me a look that said that he clearly didn't believe me, but seemed to let it pass anyways with a small sigh. With the lack of a threat, my body relaxed again, making the once dull ache in my head turn into a full on throbbing. I could swear that my brain was trying to escape my skull. I followed Yugo to Amalia, since she was the reason why I came down from the tree with Moon. Amalia was sitting, exhausted, on the ground, in the middle of a circle of her friends.

"Amalia, you amaze me more and more every day." I heard Evangeline say to the green-haired girl with a small smile.

"It wasn't me," Amalia said, glancing back at the blonde. "Without the Kanniballs energy, we wouldn't have won. I was powerless, we won because of them."

Amalia then noticed that I was here too and gave me a warm smile, which I couldn't help but return. I felt something tug at my pants a moment before I felt a familiar weight on my shoulder. I turned my head and gave the beaming Moon a smile, which he returned with happy chatter. I knew that my body was covered in burns, but at the moment they didn't seem to be affecting me very much.

"Uhhh, do you think that thing will ever stop growing?" Sir Percedal suddenly asked and I looked over at the totem along with everyone else, seeing how it was indeed still growing.

As I looked back down from the growing totem I jumped a little to see that we had been surrounded by the villagers. Amalia stood up and looked around as the others stood a little on guard. Then the villagers suddenly got down on their knees and bowed to us with their foreheads pressed up against the grass.

"Moon's already worshiped like a God," Amalia stated with curiosity in her voice, "I wonder what's gonna happen now that he's saved them too?"

"Do you think they'd pay for the privilege of touching him...?" Rule suddenly said, and I noticed how everyone suddenly grumbled his name and rolled their eyes.

"No," I said matter-of-factually, "The offerings at every full moon will probably increase though..."

"Offerings? What type of offerings?" Rule inquired and I shrugged the best I could with Moon on my shoulder.

"Depends, might be fruits from the trees or crops from the filed. Sometimes there's even dried meats... though Moon doesn't like to eat the meat." I responded, only to hear a sigh come from the old man. I looked back at him questioningly, but received no answer. Botan approached us then, gaining the groups attention as Moon crawled down to sit in my arms. I noticed that Moon saw Az's head poke out from under Yugo's hat. The small yellow bird looked around carefully before he flew out completely.

"Please, stay for a little while." Botan said to the group, "We will help you rebuild your ship, and stock it with the provision that you will need for a long journey. A feast will be held tomorrow night and Elena could show you around our lovely island."

I sent a frown at Botan for being suddenly roped into doing stuff without my consent. I usually wouldn't mind doing something to help out others, and I also want to spend time with the curious group and get to know them, but it would have been nice to be asked about it first. I might have had something planned for my day- never mind that I don't usually having anything planed for my days in the first place.

I looked over at the group of traveler's, curious to their reaction. They were looking at one another with smiles on their faces. After a moment, Evangeline looked up at Botan with a smile.

"I think that that would be lovely." she said and Amalia nodded beside her.

"We would love to stay for a few nights to get things ready to go. Thank you for offering your services Botan Faicus!" Amalia said before glancing at me then back up to Botan. "And I'd love to have more of your herbal tea sometime."

I blushed at that, while Botan laughed warmly.

"Thank you Amalia, but it was Elena who taught me how to make it. My tea is barely any good compared to hers." Botan replied, making my face flush a darker red at the compliment.

I looked away from the group, scratching my cheek slightly. I couldn't get myself to look at them. Moon then chittered before he hopped out of my arms, then hit the ground running before he started to chase Az around. The group laughed, seeing Az try to fly away as Moon easily caught up and hopped around to tray and catch him.

"I'll leave our guests in your care then Elena." Botan said as he left, the villagers already getting up from their spots and leaving to go retire for the night. I ignored their whispers that were directed at me and mentally counted how many beds were available in the tree instead. There would be one person without a bed, if I kept mine.

"Alright, well, you guys can follow me and we can head on to bed." I said, looking back to the travelers. They nodded and I lead them to the large tree house that Moon and I share.


	4. Blue Feather

"You use portals too, don't you?"

The group and I had just left the village a few moments ago. Now we're making our trek up the mountain-like tree. I glanced over at Percedal- or Dally as I noticed the others called him- seeing that he was the one who voiced the question. The group had been talking about the battle- discussing moves that were used and what had happened in general. So, I was a little surprised when the conversation was suddenly turned to me.

"Yeah." I said, not entirely sure on how to answer his question. I simply went with stating the truth instead.

"What are you then? How did you use the portals?" Dally then asked, looking at me as though I was a puzzle to be solved. I gave him a puzzled look in return.

"Iop brain..." I heard Evangeline mumble before she thwacked Dally on the back of his red head. He yelped and rubbed his head where he go hit, looking at the blonde with genuine confusion.

"What was that for?" He asked and Evangeline simply shook her head, before looking to me apologetically and ignoring the Iop.

"I'm sorry, Elena." She said as she pointed at Dally with her thumb. "What he means to ask is if you were born here on this island and if you've always had the ability to use portals."

I nodded my head at her, now understanding what Dally was trying to say thanks to Evangeline's translation. Then I thought to myself a little before answering. I was trying to remember if the ones who took care of me, before Moon, had mentioned anything about my real parents. After a few moments of silence, I shook my head while looking straight ahead.

"No, I don't think that I was born here, even though it makes sense to think so." I said slowly, trying to say what I meant without causing confusion. "As for my portals, I think I've always had the ability to use them. I discovered them by accident when I was six."

"When you were six?" Yugo questioned, his voice sounding as though he couldn't quite believe what I'd said.

I nodded, looking over at him beside me. Yugo looked away when I nodded, as though he had to think about something. A moment later and a frantic Az flew by, closely followed by Moon, making us all laugh at the sight.

"When did _you_ discover your portals Yugo?" I asked. Moon had made a totem appear with his hammer so that the group could walk over a large gap in the aging tree. I'm almost certain that the entire tree will turn to stone one day- it's roots have already dried up enough to be mistaken for rocks.

Yugo glanced over at me before smiling at his memory.

"I was cooking in the kitchen a few months ago with Az. He hit a shelf and the spices and jams were about to shatter on the floor. I reached out to grab as many as I could when a portal appeared instead! I ended up making a huge mess anyways... I had made a second portal on purpose, to see what had happened. Everything that had fallen from the shelf jumped out at me and shattered on the floor!" He laughed and I couldn't help but join in. That was an odd way to find out you have the ability to make portals. At least it was safer than what happened to me.

"What happened for you, Elena?" Amalia asked curiously once the group and I stopped laughing. I gave Amalia a small smile as we continued to walk, noticing that the house was now in view.

"I got lost in the woods that day." I said, starting to think back to the day Moon found me. "I ended up wandering around the forest for hours. Then I ran into a fully matured brakmarian bow meow. It attacked me, and I made a portal. It absorbed the kitty and sent the poor animal running the opposite way."

The group was silent for a moment before Dally spoke.

"Wow! You must be very brave to attack a brakmarian bow meow! And when you were six too!" Dally exclaimed with a smile that seemed to get everyone out of their shock. I looked back at him with a smile, leading everyone inside the humble home that Moon and I share.

"Thanks, Sir Percedal." I said with a smile.

"Of course Elena! And you can call me Dally!" He said in response before looking around the home. "Are your parents not here? Or a guardian of some kind?"

"Moon's been my guardian for six years now." I said, turning to the group who then looked over to Moon. He was passed out with a smile on his face and a sleeping Az in his arms.

"You were raised by the monkey?!" Dally suddenly exclaimed, his eyes seemingly popping out of his head as they widened in shock. He got another thump on the head from Evangeline while he earned a laugh from me.

"Yup." I stated with a smile, then yawned. "Come on, your rooms are this way."

I waved them over to the rooms telling everyone where a bed was. I let them choose for themselves which room that they wanted to use for their stay here. When they were done, they bid one another good night tiredly, and disappeared into whichever room they chose. I smiled at that, finding it an odd thing to do, and made my way to my room. It wasn't until after I opened the door to see an undressing Yugo, that I remembered that I let my room be taken for the night.

Yugo had instantly whipped his head around to face the door at the sound of it opening, resulting in our eyes locking. We were both silent for a moment, the shock and confusion evident on our faces. I blinked, breaking our trance and coming back to reality. My face was heating up at the same time that his face turned a tomato red.

"I- I... S- sorry!" I stuttered, looking down from his eyes in attempt to make things a bit better. It didn't.

My embarrassment only grew worse as my eyes landed on his body instead. My mind screamed at me to get myself out of this situation- and fast. I quickly shut my eyes, then covered them with my hands for extra safety. I backed out of that room faster than I ever have in my life.

I somehow managed to close the door behind me swiftly. I let my hands fall from my face slowly as I leaned my back against the door to my room. A nervous chuckle escaped me. I could only hope Yugo hadn't heard it. My face was three times hotter than it was before and I tried to breathe slowly to cool myself down. I walked down the hall after a little bit, fanning my face with one hand and forcing my mind away from what I'd walked in on.

He had only his hat and undergarments on, having just finished pulling his yellow shirt over his head. I had noticed that there was a tofu print on his underwear- which made me smile- and...

' _And I will_ not _go into more details!_ ' I told myself firmly.

My mind reverted back to the situation and my face went hot again. Poor Yugo was probably three times more embarrassed than me about what just happened...

I called out on my magic then, to get to the totems faster, only to gasp and fall to my knees. A painful tug persisted in my gut as the dulling headache from the overuse of magic came back in full force. A noise of discomfort left me as I tried to hug my head and my stomach at the same time. It felt as though someone had punched me in the gut and simultaneously hit my head as though it was a drum set in fast paced music.

I groaned, my body feeling weak all over again as I realized how much power I had used all day. I wondered just how much effort and strain I had put on my body from using so much magic. I had to protect myself from the pillar that Moon's hammer had made, then I helped out in taking down Saul...

Somehow, I'd managed to make it up to the roof. I must have used a portal without realizing it, which was most likely the cause of my pain. I looked up, seeing my tree and crawled over to it, laying down beneath it's leaves with a groan.

My head was pounding. My body was throbbing. My vision of the glittering stars above me was starting to go blurry. And the sounds of the creatures in the night were starting to get muddled. I closed my eyes with another pain-filled groan. I could feel my heartbeat throughout my body. I layed out on my back with my arms stretched out to my sides.

I felt my breathing slow down, my mind swallowing the darkness of my surroundings. I felt myself slip into a peaceful sleep as I focused on my heartbeat.

* * *

 _I was sitting on the wooden porch to my house. The house was built by my husband and I. It sits high on a hill that overlooked our village. The village itself was hidden deep in the mountains and away from the other inhabitants of this world. They weren't ready to meet us yet, the other sentient beings of this world. The adviser that my husband and I confide in, Qilby, said so._

 _The sun was going down in the distance. It was setting the sky aflame with soft hues of orange's and pinks. It was beautiful and is one of my most favorite sights, which was why we built our house up on the hill instead of in our village with our people._

 _It's winter. As far as the eye could see, the ground is covered in the fluffy, white powder of snow. I have a warm blanket around my shoulders to keep me warm, my legs are tucked up under me as I sit on the cushioned love seat on my porch. A coffee table, made with the same materials as the love seat, was off to my left. The glass table top glistened as it caught the last of the provided sun-rays before the sun retired for the night._

 _I pulled up my blanket around my shoulders, noting how much colder it is out here as I watched my breath come out as steam in amusement. The seat beside me dipped slightly, and I smiled, already knowing who it was without looking. A white steaming cup was held up in front of me, making my small smile grow larger. My heart warmed at the gesture._

 _"Thank you," I said, taking the cup with both my hands. I used the blanket around me to keep the heat of the cup from burning my hands. I heard him chuckle beside me as I took a grateful sip from my cup, loving the taste of the warm cocoa that slid down my throat. It effectively warmed me up. I sighed in content, putting my cup on the glass table and moving the table so that it would be in front of the chair that we were sitting on._

 _I opened up my warm blanket, shivering a bit at the cold wind that started to pick up. I then turned to the man beside me and wrapped my blanket around him too, pulling us a little closer to one another. He smiled at me as I used this opportunity to hug him- I haven't seen him all day._

 _He held me close to him as I snuggled with him to watch the last of the sunset. We spoke quietly about our day as we snuggled. My head was rested comfortably on his chest where I could hear his calm heartbeat. The sound relaxed me as he wrapped the blanket closer to us, pulling me even closer to him. I felt his lips on my head before he rested his chin where he kissed me, his actions making me feel three times warmer than a simple cup of cocoa ever could._

 _In this moment I was my most content. My heart is filled with nothing but love for this man with me._

 _Once the sun had completely set, and the rest of the liquid from my cup was gone, I turned in my seat so that I could face him. I leaned away from my husband, just enough so that I could look him in the eyes. His azure eyes that made my insides melt. They easily found my turquoise ones and we stared at each other. It felt like eternity, yet it could have been only a few minutes._

 _I felt soft snowflakes start to melt on my skin, making me remember why I turned to face him. Gently wrapping my arms around his neck, I leaned against him a little more as I felt my gaze soften with the purest emotion that I have ever felt. I had to tell him, I felt that my heart may burst if I didn't._

 _"I love you." I said softly to him. He leaned forward, resting his forehead against mine, never breaking eye contact with me as a smile grew on his face._

 _"And I love you." He stated. Three simple words. But he said them with just as much affection as I did._

 _Yes, I was the happiest in my moments with him._

* * *

My eyes opened slowly when the first rays of sunlight hit my face. I rolled over to my right side, away from the rising sun. I tried to use my arm as a pillow as I tugged on my hat to cover my eyes again. But as I placed the weight of my head on my arm, I hissed and rolled back onto my back. Ever so slowly, my mind became aware of my entire body still pulsing in pain, in rhythm to my heartbeat. I wasn't fully recovered it seemed.

I focused on the dream that I had instead. It left my heart with the feeling of peace, making me smile despite my pain. It also made me feel like I was missing out on something, something extremely precious to me. The details of the dream were already gone- sunk like slimy stones that had been resurfaced, falling to the bottom of a deep lake. I know that it felt more like I had lived it than thought it up, but it was a dream none the less.

The only thing that stayed clear were the mesmerizing azure eyes of the person I was dreaming about.

I sighed, coming back to reality. I know I won't be able to get back to sleep now. I wasn't sure how long I had been laying there, but the moon and stars were disappearing. Then suddenly, Moon landed on my stomach with a slight thump. I gasped, immediately sitting up and holding my stomach in pain. Moon chittered happily beside me, his hammer beside him, looking at me and jumping up and down excitedly.

"Moon...!" I complained, looking over at him with a small frown, "How many times must I ask you to not go around jumping on me when I'm laying down?"

Moon seemed to get the idea of what I was saying since gave me a sheepish smile. I sighed, getting up on my feet and adjusting my clothing to look like I didn't just sleep outside, on the roof of my house. All of the muscles in my body felt like I had overused them.

"Alright, let's go." I said, once I was presentable, looking over to Moon. He looked ecstatic.

I rolled my eyes at him before summoning my portals. I winced at the slight pain in my gut from the use of my magic, but used my portals to get to the house anyways. The pain would go away eventually.

Once in the house, I quickly set to work with breakfast. I put some herbal tea to boil as I waited for the food to get ready. I busied myself with making fires and getting the ingredients out instead of focusing on my aching body. It wasn't a minute after I started that a tired yawn emanated from the direction of the threshold into the kitchen. It was just beside the hall that lead to the area where the bedrooms were. I looked over my shoulder as I set up a frying pan on the stove, having just finished making the fires.

"Good morning!" I said a moment before I saw that it was Yugo who had entered the kitchen, rubbing his eyes.

"Good morning..." He said tiredly. He was quiet as he woke himself up, his face flushing a little as he noticed that it was only me in the kitchen. I wasn't sure where Moon had run off to, but he was sure to come back later, when there was food to eat. I did my best not to think of last night- for obvious reasons.

"Your up early!" I said with a smile as I tried to get rid of the anticipated awkward atmosphere. I was moving around the kitchen fluidly as I got various ingredients out of their places to set them up on the counter. There's an entire dragoturkey that needed to be eaten.

"I'm used to it, thanks to my dad." Yugo said, then watched as I worked around the kitchen for a few seconds. "Would you like some help?"

"Oh, no, you're the guest. You don't need to help me out!" I said, happy that he had the thought to offer. I gave him a warm smile of thanks as I started to mix together the batter for some fresh bread.

"No, I'd love to help!" Yugo said walking over to see what I was doing. "My father owned a small restaurant for the longest time and I've helped out a baker with his bread before too. I'm sure I can be of some use!"

I paused for a moment, thinking it over. Is it more rude to refuse help or to let the guests help out? I couldn't remember. Mentally shrugging, I gave Yugo a bright smile, already feeling my arms tire from the constant string of the dough.

"Alright then," I said moving aside so that he would have the room to help me out. "I've already gotten the fire started for the oven." I pointed to the oven that was embedded into the wall at the other end of the kitchen. "Would you mind working on the bread?"

Yugo smiled and I passed him the dough. It would be ready to put on the counter soon. It didn't take long after that, with Yugo's help, to get breakfast ready for everyone. I had cut up the dragoturkey into strips so that I could fry it and Yugo had cracked some quaquack eggs onto a second pan while the bread was put into the oven. Just as I was dicing up some potatoes, I heard an odd sound. Yugo and I glanced at one another nervously.

"What was that?" I questioned, even though from the look Yugo was giving me I already knew he didn't know. Yugo shrugged and we both went back to tending the eggs, meat and potatoes. Only a moment later, I heard the same sound again, but now it was accompanied by a burning smell. We glanced at each other in confusion before our eyes went wide in recognition.

"The bread!"

Yugo went over to the bread, baking in the oven, and moved to open it. I was about to call out to him, to tell him not to open that door just yet, but... it was too late. The oven door opened and the dough burst out like we'd been slime bombed. The gooey stickiness of the uncooked bread fell over the two of us just before mucking up the rest of the kitchen.

Yugo, who had been closer to the oven, was covered from head to toe in the uncooked mush. His hand was still on the oven door handle, where he was still holding it open. I had been standing just behind Yugo, and got the muck all over the front of my clothes.

We were both silent as we stared at the oven, shocked from what had just happened. Did the bread really just _explode_ on us? Yugo slowly stood up from his spot and turned to face me slowly. I'm not entirely sure why, but the sight struck me as funny. I cracked a smile at him, then burst out laughing at the shocked look on his face. He was laughing with me then, after a failed attempt to pout.

I walked up to him, giving him a cloth so that he could try and get the gunk off of his face. I then worked on getting the uncooked bread off of myself too, glad that it was just warm instead of hot. The burning smell had come from the dough dripping down into the fire. _How_ this happened to the dough was a mystery to me, but it was plenty amusing.

We easily cleaned the mess up, the dough mostly being all over the oven, Yugo and myself.

Soon enough, Yugo had put in another batch of bread and we finished up with putting the breakfast on the table. A large bowl of diced potatoes that had been fried in oil was on the table and Yugo placed a second large bowl of scrambled quaquack eggs just beside them. All that was left was the simmering dragoturkey strips on my pan and the bread cooking in the oven.

I flipped the strips of meat in my pan, a smile on my face as the wonderful smell of the food made my stomach rumble. A little bubble of laughter escaped me every now and then- from the explosion of dough- as I cooked.

Yugo walked by then, to check on the bread and I glanced over to him. My smile faltered as I remembered last night. I still hadn't properly apologized.

I turned away from the cooking food, facing Yugo. He seemed to have decided that the bread wasn't ready yet when he noticed me turn. He turned to face me and I couldn't meet his eyes. I was looking down at my feet instead, shamefully.

"What's wrong?" Yugo asked, tilting his head to one side curiously. I looked back up at him with remorse in my eyes.

"I'm really sorry, Yugo." I said and he gave me a confused look. I looked down again biting my lip as I felt my face heat up. "Last night. I.. I didn't mean to walk in like that." I looked out the window, wanting a distraction. "I've never really had this many people over before and... I didn't expect to need to lend out my room I guess. I should have been paying more attention- but after that fight I was just so tired and... I hadn't even noticed...! That is... until I... opened the door." I glanced back up at him shyly. Yugo's face was as red as tomato again, even his ears were a little pink. "I really am sorry."

"I- it's okay." He said, a small stutter in his voice. "I- I mean... It was your room anyways, a- and I didn't mean to take it from you...!"

I shook my head, a small smile on my lips. I was glad that he wasn't mad. "No, it's okay. It was entirely my fault ...and I didn't mind you using my room. I did say that everyone could choose _any_ of the rooms that were there."

We locked eyes for a few minutes, both of our faces incredibly red. A noise then caught our attention, breaking us from our staring match. We both went over to the dining room to see that Dally had arrived, sitting down excitedly at the table. His eyes caught us as we came into view and the Iop smiled from ear to ear.

"This looks absolutely delightful!" Dally said making me smile. Then he got a good look at the two of us who were still a little flustered, and raised a curious eyebrow. "What happened to the two of you?"

Yugo and I glanced at one another before turning away.

"Nothing." We chimed and we both went back into the kitchen. Yugo went right for the bread while I went to the frying meat.

It didn't take too long after that for my three other guests to come out from their rooms. They looked hungrily at the table before sitting down around it. I laughed at their reactions when I brought the meat out. Yugo had already grabbed the bread out of the oven, a smile on his face as this hadn't exploded on us. I put the strips of dragoturkey on the table with the rest of the food. The group had been talking about what they'd be doing today.

I grabbed some plates and helped Yugo pass out the bread to the others. Moon jumped into the house then, through a window, with Az following closely behind him. Moon climbed onto my shoulder while chittering happily before jumping onto the table and helping himself to some food. I sat down a moment after Yugo did, and everyone dug in, glad to finally be able to eat the food in front of them.

The rest of the day went by rather quickly after that.

I showed the group around the village, first. When the whispering and pointing from the villagers had finally been enough, I took them around the island. I don't think that the group noticed though.

Amalia said that her favorite place by far was the hot springs. I found out that both Dally and Evangeline were in agreement with her, which made me laugh. It's too bad that my memories of the hot springs are not very fond ones.

Rule liked the quarry the most for some reason. I had explained to them how the villagers usually mined for clay but often found and kept the shiny things that they found hiding in the clay for decoration. It took us a long time to get Rule away from the quarry after that.

Then I showed them the beach. The villagers were already working hard on repairing their boat. When the group saw that, they decided to help out. I was about to pitch in too, when Botan came and called me away from the group. So, for the rest of the day, I had to bounce water skins from person with my portals, or other materials that they needed. I never actually spoke to any of the villagers- Botan made sure of that. I wasn't sure if it was a good or bad thing.

By the time that the sun was setting, the repairs to the boat were complete. Tonight would be the last night the travelers were staying on the island. They'd leave in the afternoon tomorrow.

The villagers were already making their way back to the village in one large group. Amalia and her friends were in tow, talking amongst one another happily as they followed the villagers.

I laughed as I spotted Moon, still trying to catch Az. He ended up plucking the blue tail feather off of the little tofu instead of catching the small bird. Moon went still after looking down at the blue feather, which glowed in a bright blue light before disappearing from Moon's hand. When the little monkey didn't move, I grew worried. I walked over to Moon carefully, slowly.

"What's wrong with Moon?" I heard Yugo ask me, and I thought it was a little odd that he didn't go with his group of friends. I didn't question it though.

"I don't know." I said shaking my head and walking closer to Moon, crouching down to his level.

I saw Yugo start to approach and I reached out to pet Moon on his soft head. Before I could touch him, Moon suddenly came back to his senses and spotted me. He let out a loud screech of shock, as though I were going to attack him. He jumped backwards, away from me, hissing threateningly and making his fur all puffy. I blinked in surprise, looking at Moon in confusion and hurt as he treated me as though I were his enemy.

"Moon...?" I said, and tried to reach out for him again. Moon hissed at me before he screeched and ran away from me, as though his tail were on fire.

I didn't move, staring off into the area where Moon's form had left my sight. Tears had started to prick my eyes as confusion and hurt stabbed me in the chest.

"Maybe he doesn't like being pet on the head...?" I heard Yugo say uneasily from beside me. I stood up slowly, my body trembling slightly. I quickly wiped at my eyes before any tears could fall. I wasn't by myself at the moment.

"No, Moon usually loves to get his head pet." I said, my voice was a little strained as I fought back my emotions. I didn't look at Yugo. There was a moment of silence before he spoke again.

"You okay?" He asked attentively, like he was poking at a sleeping wild animal, unsure of the reaction that he would get.

"I didn't do _anything_..." I stated instead, finally looking at Yugo. He was watching me carefully as I tried to get confirmation from him. This had made me remember when the villagers had abandoned me... and a seed of dread sprouted in my gut. I _didn't_ want Moon to leave me too. I didn't think I was ready to leave Moon either.

"I... didn't _do_ ...anything." I said again, a little more firmly this time.

Yugo gave me a nod, but looked uncertain of what I was talking about. I felt a slight relief wash over me for the confirmation. I wasn't in the wrong, no matter how unsure my answer was. Tears started to prickle at my eyes again. I looked away from the boy wearing blue, towards the house I shared with Moon in the oldest tree on the island.

"I'm... going to head home first." I said, quietly. I saw Yugo nod again, out of the corner of my eye. "I'll see you... later, Yugo."

"Okay... see you Elena." He responded.

I opened up my portals and left, ignoring the pain in my heart.


	5. Heart To Heart

AN: Hello! I'm sorry it took so long to post, I had to re-edit this chapter ALOT for it to finally reach my approval to let others read it. I hope you enjoy!

* * *

I was sitting cross-legged at the very top of my home. My back is leaning against the side of the tree that I planted here long ago. My head is dipped back, leaning against the rough bark as I stare at the stars that are glowing brighter by the minute.

The look on my face is probably blank. My hands were laying uselessly in my lap. My eyes are probably red and puffy, and my legs fell asleep long ago. I couldn't couldn't find it in myself to move and wake them again either. I felt rather empty, my heart having ached for so long now, I'd gotten used it.

The sun had set a long while ago, though I don't really know how much time actually passed. It all felt like a blur. All that my mind could think about, after all, was my situation with Moon. Even if I _tried_ thinking of something else my mind still went back to Moon. I don't know what it is that I'm supposed to do.

When Moon treated me as though I were his enemy, I couldn't stop the flashback from hitting me. It was the day I discovered my portals all over again. The day the villagers left me in the woods. I was too shocked too cry at the time and ended up simply wandering in the forest for hours. Which was when I eventually ran into the monsters. Well, I say monsters, but they're really just animals that were only as hungry and scared as I was. Which was why I used my portals until I passed out- it was a fight for survival. And just before I did pass out, I saw Moon for the first time. He was using his hammer to save me.

I let out a tired breath. My eyes pricked with new tears and my stomach rumbled hungrily. I didn't feel like leaving my spot though. I didn't want to run into Moon and be rejected...

I couldn't risk that. Not like when the village had decided that I was no good to have around. I never wanted Moon to think that of me. I _couldn't_ have Moon thinking of me like that.

That little monkey is what's been keeping my world together since I was six. He's been my companion, my friend, my _family._ I didn't want him to suddenly try and get _rid_ of me...

So what am I going to do? What did I do wrong that made Moon run away like that? My eyes drifted down from the stars and my mind wandered again. My head was starting to pound.

My mind went back to how Moon and I would sit on this very totem together, not even two nights ago. I'd usually let my mind wander at those times. First, I'd be fascinated by the stars- how bright they are, how many there are, how they seemed to make their own shapes and designs without effort. Then my mind would go to myself- how I feel as I gazed at the stars, how I wondered if there were people gazing back at me from the stars, and the odd feeling of belonging among them. From there I'd think of my dreams and how I thought about the events happening in my life- like when Botan had gotten hurt and Moon brought him in to heal.

I didn't mind him, Botan, he is a good person. I liked having him around when he stayed, and it felt nice to not be the only person in the tree house. Whenever I thought about Btoan though, it would always bring me to thoughts about the village. How I'd secretly visit everyday and see what was happening. Secret, because of the villager's mistrust of me.

That, of course led me to think of where it was that I was supposed to be. What if I actually _belonged_ somewhere? And as I stared at the stars, the thought of belonging among them became a suspicion of mine. A strong feeling that only grew with each passing night. It made me _want_ to leave the island- try and see if there were people out there that were looking for _me,_ or who _needed_ me. But then ...my mind would go right back to Moon.

I could never leave him. And where else would I go? What if I got hurt and Moon _wasn't_ there? He may not look it, but that monkey knew where all the healing herbs grew around the island. It didn't take long for me to pick up on what the herbs were, after Moon started to help Botan with them. With practice on myself, I eventually I knew more about the plants on the island than Moon did. I blended the herbs and made more potent medicines that would help out.

I smiled then, looking down at my hands on my lap. Botan was the one who gave me the idea of using dried plants instead of fresh ones. I set aside an entire room for drying and making powdered medicines. I gave these powders to Moon, who gave them to sick villagers, who had gotten hurt in some way. Each time that Moon came back empty handed, there would be a little extra food given to us in return at the end of that moon cycle. I'd always give Moon pats on the head in a sign of a job well done...

I'd pat him on the head and scratch him behind the ears the way that he'd like _every_ time that we had made a new medicine together too...

Tears suddenly sprung back to my eyes then. The memory of Moon hissing angrily at me flashed across my mind once more, making my heart sting.

Hadn't I said that I'd gotten used to this pain already? Why does it suddenly feel fresh again?

Shaking my head, I forced my thoughts to the group of adventurers. They were going to leave tomorrow afternoon. For some reason this made a frown appear almost instantly on my face at the thought. I felt a sinking in my gut at the thought of them leaving for some reason.

All day I'd listened to some of their adventures, before they arrived here. When we had gone to the hot springs together they told me about the time when they had thought that there was a stole away on the boat but it was just Scribble, their talking map. While we were yanking Rule away from the mines, the group told me about the time that they passed through a town where peoples shadows were being controlled and explained to me how they got Rule to do what they wanted by showing him a kama.

While these stories kept me entertained, Rule didn't seem to like being reminded of when he was being controlled and retorted with a story of his own. He had then explained to me about a time when everyone had to dress up as ugly princesses to save Dally. That for sure, was the best story of them all.

A soft smile grew on my face as I thought of their adventures and how fondly they spoke of each other too. How they had easily included me into the group, like they had to defend themselves to me or explain their actions. It was refreshing and new.

I suppose I like the group then. Maybe that's why I don't like the idea of them leaving. Maybe it was because I knew that once they left, I'd go back to regular me. The me where I am invisible. The me where Moon would send medicine to the village so that it wouldn't be rejected. And the me who spent days simply surviving. Not the me who actually had people come up to her to talk to. Not the me who had people include me in conversation. Or the me who felt as though I've found something...

Again my mind flashed to Moon recoiling from me. Another jab was sent to my heart and more tears threatened to erupt. What did I do wrong? What can I do to fix it?

My hands cover my ears, just under my hat, and my fingers weave a bit into my hair.

My thoughts are suddenly running circles in my mind. I couldn't seem to be able to push them away anymore.

But putting my hands over my ears hasn't helped. Instead it sounds as though my thoughts only grew louder. The full weight of my head is in my hands and my back is hunched forward. My elbows rest heavily on my numb knees and the tears are falling without any remorse down my cheeks.

I lean forward, then rock back slightly in my spot. My body is suddenly shaking and I don't seem to have any power over what it does anymore. My thoughts only grew louder as my mind replayed the horrified look that Moon gave me before jumping away from me as though I'd burned him. I saw it over and over again, and it wouldn't stop no matter how hard I tried to think of something else.

 _'What do I_ do _?'_ I asked myself, cringing at another jab of pain to my heart with the image of Moon running away.

' _What_ did _I do?_ '

What do I do? What did I do? What do I do, what did I do? What do I do, what did I do? What do I do what did I do what do I do what did I-

"Elena...!"

I freeze. My mind suddenly gong blank.

What... what was that? Did ...someone ...just call my name?

My hands fell into my lap and my head tilted to the side a bit as I listened. My face felt wet and my head was pounding again. I felt the bark against my back again and tried to think of what I was doing. I couldn't recall what I was doing only a few seconds ago.

I try to take a deep breath and my chest does a minor convulsion on me- as though it tried to force air into my lungs at the same time as exhale it. When I opened my eyes- when did I close them?- my world had turned into messy water colors. The watery-like world didn't go away either- no matter how many times I blinked and rubbed at my eyes with the palms of my hands.

I can't seeing anyone around, and I'm not sure if I want to either. I wipe frantically at my eyes, my mind surprisingly calm again. It was almost as though I had just walked into the eye of the raging storm from the sea of my thoughts. If there had been a voice, it had sounded far away. But it also had sounded as though the person had been searching for a while too.

And somehow, it had calmed me down enough to think properly again.

"Elena...!" The voice called again. I could start to see my surroundings now, at least in a way that everything wasn't all water-logged. I wiped furiously at my cheeks, letting the person's voice be my only thought. Somehow, the voice seemed to drown out the sound of my mind.

Knowing that my legs wouldn't be able to carry me just yet, I crawled over to the side of the totem and looked down. I only had to blink a few more times before I process what I was seeing.

"Elena...! Where are you?"

There was the distinctive sound of a portal being opened and closed in the distance. Then I finally spotted the person calling my name, appearing out of one. It was Yugo. He was hopping about in his portals as he looked for me in the house. I'm not sure why but him looking for me in the wrong places struck me as funny. I suddenly found myself giggling quietly as I watched him curiously. Why would he be looking for me?

Yugo stopped moving and went quiet when I giggled. I held my breath, my hand flying over my mouth at his sudden stillness and I watched him intently. Had he heard me from way down there? He then opened up another portal and stepped into it. I frowned, and waited.

Why wasn't he reappearing?

I sat up from my spot, having been on my stomach this entire time, and tried to get a better view of where Yugo could have gone. He wasn't anywhere to be seen.

"Found you!"

I gasped, suddenly hearing Yugo's voice from beside me. My head whipped around to face him, and my body instinctively moved to away from him in my fright.

Only... there wasn't any ground beneath me.

Suddenly tumbling down the side of the totem with a yelp, I find my world spinning just as much as I am. Right side up, upside down, suddenly there's Yugo, then there's the ground. It would have made me sick if I wasn't in such a panic. My stomach was flip-flopping and I was suddenly glad that I hadn't eaten anything yet.

With an odd strangled noise coming from the back of my throat, I instantly summoned my magic as I spotted the ground rushing up to meet me. It felt like my body only fell faster to greet it in response. I made one portal appear above the totem, where I got a glimpse of Yugo's blue outfit for before I spun again, and opened my second portal just below me- an inch from the ground.

I fell, back first, into my portal beneath me only to be launched above the totem a moment later. All I saw was a wad of blue before I smacked into Yugo, making us both roll into the middle of the totem with a thud. I felt Yugo's weight on my back and the cool stone that Moon's totems were made out of was on my stomach. My heart was beating wildly in my chest. My breathing was a _little_ fast from my mini-heart attack and almost-death. I had _never_ been so happy to be touching a totem before. I rested my forehead on the cool rock and petted the totem lovingly with my right hand.

I am alive.

I sighed happily only a moment before I felt Yugo move. I felt his entire body shake a moment before my brain registered his laughter. I let my head tilt to the right so that my cheek is on the stone instead of my forehead and glance at Yugo side ways.

He hadn't moved from his spot on top of me. The back of his head was resting on my left shoulder and his back was leaning up against mine. I couldn't help the slight twinge of annoyance in my gut at the sound of his laughing- it _had_ been his fault that I fell after all. I gave him the stink eye then, catching his mirthful gaze.

"I could have died!" I said to Yugo. He looked me in the eye then, his smile a bit mischievous and lop-sided.

"But you didn't." He said, then got a slight far-off look in his azure eyes. "But that face that you made...!" Then Yugo burst out into another fit of laughter. I rolled my eyes at him, shrugging my left shoulder so he'd start to get off me.

"S- sorry...!" Yugo said, wiping a tear from one as he looked at me with the other, "I know I shouldn't laugh..." He sighed and sat up quickly then. Yugo kept his smile as I pushed myself up onto my hands and knees, my body suddenly feeling as though I'd just lost something.

Sitting on my legs, I noticed that I wasn't breathing hard anymore. The slight annoyance that I felt towards Yugo- for scaring me and then laughing about it afterwards- melted away with new thoughts. I'll just have to get him back for that later. I grew curious, instead, as to why he was here with me. Shouldn't he be at that feast?

"Yugo?" I asked. I tilted my head at him. "Why were you looking for me?"

"Oh... I..." He looked down for a moment, his smile faltering and his face going just a little red. Then he looked up again, his smile just as bright as before. "I was wondering if you were going to come join us at the feast."

My stomach decided to rumble then, apparently needing to answer for me at the mention of food. Why is it that no matter what mood your in, your body always finds the time to be hungry?

Yugo gave me a knowing smile.

"So, are you coming?"

I gave him a brief apologetic smile. "No, I..." I shook my head, and looked away from his eyes. "I'm not going to go to the feast right now."

"Not ...right now?" Yugo asked, tilting his head to the side as he said so. My eyes met his and I felt a small tug on my heart. All that I could see though, were images of Moon running away from me again- only this time I was at the feast with everyone there to see. My words suddenly left my mouth then, before my brain could filter what I'd spoken. No hesitation was found in my voice.

"Because I'm scared."

Now _why_ did I go and say that!? I mentally facepalmed and shook my head- I didn't even give myself time to think before the words left my mouth! I didn't want to talk about this. And it's not like it's a good conversation starter either. My eyes roamed to Yugo's again and I mentally sighed. I guess I'd have to go with this now, see what he would have to say.

Yugo stayed quiet though, a slight knowing look on his face. We didn't break eye contact as we watched one another. And somehow, it didn't feel as embarrassing as it might have looked to someone else. In fact, the longer that we shared a gaze, the more I felt as though I know him. Of course, I do know Yugo- from the little time that we've spent together today- but this feeling was _different_. It was like... he's someone I've known for the longest time and could trust him with my life. Like I knew that no matter what happened, he'd always be there for me somehow.

But... that can't be right.

Yugo was going to leave tomorrow. I was going to stay here, on my island, with Moon and the villagers. He was going to be traveling to far off places that held all sorts of untold adventures. I was going to take each day as they came. So why did I suddenly feel like I could trust him with anything?

I didn't move from my spot as I waited to see what he'd do. A small wind tugged at our clothes lightly, making me shiver at the sudden cold temperature. Yugo turned then, breaking our stare, and for a moment I felt a slight disappointment tug at my gut. Was he going to leave?

He then layed down next to me, surprising me. We were both quite then. He was staring up at the stars and, after a few seconds, I joined him. We both stared up at the stars, the moon proving us with just enough light to see.

"The stars are really beautiful from here." Yugo said quietly, making a small smile come to my lips. I guess he was waiting for me to talk first.

"Yeah, they are." I allowed, glancing over at Yugo in my peripheral vision. He had turned his head slightly to look at me.

"Moon..." Yugo said, his voice trailing off. I turned my head so that I look at Yugo properly then. The emotions in his eyes were indecipherable. He blinked then turned back to the stars above us, his ears a little red. "The moon is very bright..." He finished lamely.

I gave him a small smile, it was a good try. I didn't really know how to approach the topic either. I let the calm that Yugo seemed to bring with him comfort me as I decided to simply speak.

"Moon and I usually spend hours out here, just looking at the stars. In the summer we might even sleep up here." I started, my smile dimming with another flashback to how Moon treated me a few hours ago. I looked up to the stars then too, and I somehow knew that Yugo's full attention was on me. "Sometimes as we watched them, I would feel as though my real home was up there somewhere."

Yugo and I gazed at the stars for a while longer, the silence between us rather peaceful. I let what I'd said have the time to sink in. Eventually my eyelids began to drop, Yugo's calm suddenly affecting me. That, or my emotions had finally drained me.

Just as I thought that Yugo had gone to sleep beside me, he suddenly spoke up again.

"When I found out I was adopted... I watched the stars for hours at night. I couldn't stop the feeling that my real home might be up there, since the goal that I was given seemed so far away." Yugo said, surprising me. He was adopted? My curiosity of him only seemed to grow. I looked away from the stars and to him. My eyebrows were probably hidden by my hat when they rose from my surprise.

"You were _adopted_?" I asked, my surprise evident in my voice. Yugo just gave me a look. I backtracked, not wanting to give the wrong impression. "I mean, I was adopted too! At least... that's what the villagers said before I started to live with Moon- that ...I was adopted." He looked a little surprised by my revelation, but not much. I might even say that he had been expecting me to say it, or confirm it for him at least. Then Yugo got a puzzled look on his face and I somehow knew that he was now going to ask me a question that I might not like.

"What did you mean... a goal you were given?" I asked instead. It was an attempt to distract him from his own question. Maybe he'd forget about asking it in general.

"To find my family." He answered immediately, "there was a message given to me telling me where to go. My family... they're living somewhere in these seas, on an island called Oma." For some reason, as soon as Yugo said the island's name, it sounded familiar to me. As I was thinking about it, Yugo locked eyes with me again. He had an almost tentative look on his face now.

"How... how _did_ you meet Moon, Elena?" Yugo questioned slowly, watching my reaction.

"That's not a very nice story." I said quietly. I finally looked away from his azure eyes. Even though I looked away, I knew that he hadn't. I could still feel his gaze on me. I sighed softly and mentally cursed myself. How do I get myself into these situations? I turned my gaze back to the sky, avoiding Yugo's eyes as I decided on how to answer.

"It was a long time ago, six years ago really." I stated, watching as one star seemed to call my gaze towards it. "It's funny how fast time seems to float by... It _feels_ like it was just yesterday though." I let my eyes follow a shooting star before I took a breath, letting it calm me. "After I discovered that I could use portals... two villagers approached me. They explained to me- with very few kind words -how they had been assigned to look for me. They had heard the bow meow's call and followed it. Apparently they arrived just as I used my portals to save myself. ...And they didn't like it. They... banished me... from the village.

"...That's how I ended up staying in the forest, not knowing what to do. I'm not sure how long I stayed out there like that, but I ended up running into _pack_ of bow wows." I kept as little emotion from my voice as I could. "I guess everyone was a little hungry that day," I said with a small smile, not surprised when Yugo didn't laugh at my attempt at a joke. I took another calming breath. My mind was running through everything that I said in vivid detail- as though this had happened only a few moments ago. "I used my portals then, despite the villager's dislike of my magic. And I summoned as many as I could to keep myself safe. It... didn't take long for me to get too tired to defend myself anymore. I was on the verge of passing out. Just as I was closing my eyes, I saw Moon come. He saved me. He had summoned a large totem underneath me, and it kept me out of the bow wow's reach.

"Ever since that day, Moon's been at my side and keeping me company." My mind flashed to Moon recoiling from me again and I tried hard to swallow around a lump that formed in my throat. "That was the first time since I've met him that Moon acted like that." I said, my voice going quiet as I strained to keep my emotion out of it. I knew that Yugo knew exactly of what I was talking about- he had seen what happened after all. "Moon's kept me safe. He's been my company for most of my life. He was nicer to me than the _villagers_ ever were. ...What am I supposed to do if he decides to get rid of me too...?"

My voice cracked at the end, and I felt angry and ashamed of myself as hot tears started to cloud my vision. I hadn't meant to say that last part to Yugo. It was on my mind though, and before I could stop it- I had already said it out loud. I closed my mouth tight, not wanting to say anymore. My hands had curled up into fists at my sides and I struggled to keep my breathing even, not wanting to cry even though my tears were already falling down my cheeks.

"I don't think that Moon would suddenly decide he didn't like you." Yugo said, speaking up beside me. It sounded as though he he meant it too. "Not after saving you and keeping you safe for so long. I don't think that so much time spent together can be so easily forgotten."

I didn't say anything, but I felt like a stone had been taken off of my chest at Yugo's words. As I focused on what Yugo had said, it became easier to breathe normally again. It didn't take long after that for my tears to come to a stop.

Yugo's shoulder pressed against mine, and I looked over at him in surprise. My arm was tingling from where he was touching me and that somehow gave me comfort. Yugo gave me a small grin and I suddenly felt a little sick to my stomach. It was almost like I was falling off of the side of the totem again.

"What?" I asked, a little confused, but his grin only grew. We were so close that our hat's were almost touching at our foreheads.

"Are you feeling a little braver now?" He asked and I tilted my head slightly in confusion.

At that moment my stomach decided to grumble again, and I felt my face grow hot as I realized what Yugo meant. Returning his smile shyly, I let out a breathy laugh as I sat up, rubbing any left-over tears away.

"Yeah... I am." I said and Yugo stood up beside me. He held out a hand to me, which I gladly accepted. He helped me up to my feet. A small tingly feeling shot up my arm at the contact of our hands, but I ignored it and gave him a smile. The feeling disappeared the moment that we let go of one another.

I decided then that if something were to happen, it would happen. It'd do me no good to continue to worry about it on my own. I'd have to go and see, then I'd deal with it if something were to happen. With that decided upon, I gave Yugo a smile. I was now feeling much better thanks to him.

"I bet I could get to the village first." I said slyly, sending Yugo a smirk. Yugo took a moment before he smiled at the change in my tone.

"Nope, I don't think so. Not with me around anyways." He said with a smirk of his own. His palms were starting to glow with his magic, and I felt my competitive side start to show. My smirk only grew.

"No way." I said matter-of-factually. "I've had the portals longer and..." I narrowed my eyes playfully. "I actually know how to use them!" I stated proudly, taunting him. Yugo gave me a playful frown.

"Then I guess we'll have to see who's better then, huh?"

"That'll be me!" I said, running off the side of the totem. Just as I was starting to fall I summoned my portals to catch me.

I could faintly hear Yugo shout out that I was a cheater as I portal jumped. I laughed as I spotted Yugo a short distance away, appearing and disappearing as I was. It was clear that he had never tried to make his portals so consecutively and quickly before. Especially when he suddenly zoomed forwards, only to stop a few seconds later with a look of completely bewilderment at what he had just done!

His bewilderment didn't last long though- with a mischievous smile sent my way, he suddenly zoomed on ahead. I laughed, knowing exactly what he was up to and followed easily. It barely took any of my concentration to follow Yugo and soon we had both arrived at the feast.

Just as I appeared with my last portal, Yugo appeared through his own directly in front of me. Our eyes widened in shock, my mouth making a slight 'o' as I realized that I was going too fast to dodge. The both of us knocked heads as we ran into one another. We tumbled to the ground and rolled for a few seconds before we came to a stop. I groaned in pain. Yugo replied similarly beside me as I tried to get up.

"Let's not... do that again..." I managed to groan out weakly, making it to my hands and knees as Yugo slowly sat up, holding his head in pain. That's twice today that we've run into one another.

Yugo didn't respond, only nodding his head lightly when I heard laughter around us. Looking up, I saw that most people were talking to themselves in random groups and ignoring us. My eyes soon focused on the one who was laughing regardless.

It was Dally. And he had a large smile plastered on his face as he looked over Yugo and I. He was slapping his one knee with one hand and holding his stomach with the other. A glass of red liquid was set in front of him on a wooden table. Just beside him, Rule was frowning at him while face palming.

"What's so funny?" I asked Dally with a frown. He didn't respond though, laughing too hard to even try. He tried to respond though, and only got short breaths between his laughter- as though it was hard to breathe. I titled my head then glanced over at Yugo. He shrugged at me while standing up, and I followed suit.

Yugo then went over to Dally who was slowly calming down, while I went to the buffet table first. I grabbed the largest plate I could find and proceeded to place white rice and gobball chops on it. The smell of the food alone was enough to make me salivate. I chose a random table and sat on a wooden stump near it as I was now ready to eat.

Just as I was taking my first bite, both Amalia and Evangeline flanked me, sitting on a stump on either side of me. I looked at them both curiously, noting how they were giving me smirks, then put the food in my mouth.

"Evangeline, was I imagining it or was Yugo looking over here a moment ago?" Amalia said, a teasing tone to her voice. I gave Amalia an odd look as I simply took another bite of my food.

"I think your right, Amalia, he _was_ looking over here." Evangeline said, their smirks only growing. "You know, I wonder what he was so worried about earlier...?"

"I wonder~" Amalia said, narrowing her eyes at me with an extra sweet smile on her face. It looked almost evil. "He couldn't stop fidgeting..." Amalia said, and I raised an eyebrow at them. I had a feeling that they knew exactly what was up with Yugo at the time. "It looked like he was waiting for someone."

"And then he just _disappeared_..." Evangeline said, tilting her head in my direction. Her elbow was on the table with her chin in her hand as she looked at me. Amalia was using both of her hands to hold up her head as she leaned on the table on my other side.

"I wonder where he went off to~" Amalia said, one finger tapping her chin delicately as she sent the question to Evangeline. Then her eyes flickered to me. "Say, do you know anything Elena?"

I swallowed my food and went for another bite before I realized that my food was gone. I gave a small glare to Evangeline, seeing that she stole my plate. Apparently, I wouldn't be getting it back until I answered.

"He could have gone anywhere." I said, eyeing my food. "But I accompanied him back to the feast." I looked at Evangeline, who had a smirk on her face that was just as evil as Amalia's. She only held the food up higher in response. I guess they wanted details.

Which meant I wasn't going to get my food back any time soon.

I got up from my spot instead, sending a sad glance to my unfinished plate of deliciousness. Ignoring Evangline and Amalia's cries for me to go back to them, I went back to the buffet. I made a second plate for myself. This time, my plate will only be of rice covered with the sauce from the meat...

As I went to sit down again, I stopped myself from going back to my previous table. Both girls were waiting to ambush me again- I could tell from the determined looks on both Amalia and Evangeline's faces. I looked down at my food, fearing for it's safety, and looked around for a different spot to sit.

All tables seemed to be full, from either people eating or putting tables away to make room for more instruments. There was a soft tune being played by several villagers but it looked like they were preparing to step up the beat soon. The large bonfire in the center of the area was starting to die down a bit, but there were still several smaller fires around it with roasts slowly cooking on spits.

I then spotted Yugo sitting on a table not too far away. He was swinging his legs nonchalantly while listening to Percedal and Rule talk. Their conversation couldn't be nearly as odd as the one between Amalia, Evangeline and I. And I knew that my food would have a better chance of being eaten by _me_ before it got taken away if I sat there.

With my mind made up, I went to sit at Yugo's table. Neither Dally nor Rule were sitting down at it, which meant that there was plenty of room for me to sit. As I walked over I noticed that Yugo had spotted me, giving me a warm smile.

"Hey," I said, setting my plate down.

"Hey, Elena!" Yugo greeted back happily. I returned his smile and went to take a bite out of my food. As I took the bite, I noticed that both Amalia and Evangeline were giving me their strange looks again. It was as though they were expecting something to happen. I shook my head at their oddness and continued eating instead.

"Those two ambushed me a couple of minutes ago." I said when I noticed that Yugo had looked in the direction that I was. "I don't know why but they seem to be eager to get me alone again..." I gave them another glance. As soon as Yugo looked over at them, they'd turned into the picture of innocence. "And they even stole my plate!" At the mention of my abandoned food, I felt the twinge of pain in my heart from not eating everything. It was almost as though they had mortally wounded me. You can't just go around steeling hungry people's food.

"Well that doesn't seem too bad!" Yugo laughed, and I gave him a playful glare.

"That's what you think." I said, then pointed my wooden spoon at him. "But I don't like it when I get the things that I like stolen from me." I looked down at my food sadly, "And it was really tasty too..."

Yugo just laughed again and I rolled my eyes at him. With a huff, I took another bite of my food. Half way through my bite though, the ground started to shake. I almost choked from surprise. I looked up at Yugo to try and catch his eye, only to see that he was looking in the distance behind me. His eyes were wide in shock and worry.

I quickly turned in my seat then, bracing myself for what I'd see. I'd barely managed to swallow my food when my appetite left me. I suddenly felt sick to my stomach.

In the distance, the tree that Moon I live in could be clearly seen. The ground was still shaking, and apparently, it was in accordance with my home being destroyed.


	6. Banished

Slowly, I stood up from the log I'd been sitting on. The soft music that had been playing stopped the moment that the shaking had started. The clearing that the feast is taking place in is completely silent. Both villagers and visitors watch in a mix of both horror and awe.

The large, petrifying roots of the tree have been shaken.

High above, beyond the large gates of the village's borders, the silhouette of the house can be seen hidden in the distant branches. From the angle that I'm standing at the moment, the large tree can almost trick me into believing it's a mountain. That's just how vast and large it really is.

Villagers stared at the house high above them and my heart started to pound in my chest. Even from where I stand, I can see totems bursting through the walls of the house like ditzy flowers sprouting in the spring. A large tremor was clearly seen running down the tree after each totem appeared and reached us on the ground only a moment later.

The villagers started to whisper amongst one another behind me. Their stares seemed to be burning into my back. I'd like to think that they're stares of worry, but they felt too cold for that. Their whispers grew louder as the tremors continued to grow stronger.

A cold dread was forming in the pit of my stomach. The dread kept me grounded, and I was frozen in fear at the thought of it being right. I didn't want to go up there and see _why_ Moon would do this. I didn't want to, but I knew that I had to.

Then I heard someone who'd spoken out.

"It's happened!" Someone said, and I turned my body to look over my shoulder. A small villager had stepped out of the crowd. Clearly a child in stature, yet he was bold enough to step out and point a trembling finger at me. His mask held a smiling wooden face on it that contradicted the horror and genuine fear that rang out in this villager's voice. "She's brought a calamity to us all! Our God is upset thanks to her!"

A cold dread washed over me at his words. Were the villagers going to be even more hostile towards me than they ever were? And what would Yugo and the others think about this? Would they come to hate me too?

Only a moment after the boy spoke up, a loud crash was heard above us. A clear sound of a large tree branch snapping rang out and all of our attentions turned skywards. The ground shook and my eyes widened at what I saw. A large piece of wall had fallen from high above, braking old branches on its way down and splintering into many shard-like pieces.

Then my body moved on it's own. I jumped through a single portal and crashed into the boy who had just spoken out against me in fear. I hit him hard with my body and a moment later we were rolling on the ground. Just after I'd gotten him out of the way a long sheet of glass shattered on the ground where the boy had been standing moments ago. Broken shards sprayed over us, but I got the brunt of it since I'd ended up on top of the boy.

I opened my eyes a moment later with my body stinging all over. When I looked down at the boy, I noticed that he wasn't a boy at all. Even though he was short, he was most definitely a teenager who was probably almost a man. It seems that when I knocked the boy out of the way, he hit his head hard on the ground. This made him pass out at the moment that his mask flew off of his face. His dark hair was a mess and a small cut was bleeding on his caramel-skinned cheek, but otherwise, he was just fine.

A gasp made me look up to see that some of the villagers were watching me. Most others were watching the sky for more debris falling down. I saw the teen's mask and grabbed it. I put the mask back on the teen since I knew that the villagers wore them for one specific reason or other.

Then I looked up towards the tree house once more. Large pieces of wood and glass were falling from the sky. Because it came from a place so high up, it had taken a little time before the debris would reach the village on the ground.

Kneeling, I quickly summoned my magic into the palms of my hands. As I slowly stood up once more, I created multiple portals in the air to catch all of the falling debris. With my concentration at the max, I was a little surprised when other portals started to join mine.

I looked at Yugo with surprise on my face only to meet his determined gaze. Beside him, Evangeline was drawing her bow, Rule was aiming his shovel, Amalia was summoning her plants and Percedal was... well, he was arguing with his sword and smashing the blade on the nearest table.

It made me smile to see that they were backing me up. I walked over to them, having caught most debris, and concentrated on making a single portal to let the various pieces of house land somewhere safe nearby. As soon as that was done, I looked back over to the gang. Yugo was the closest person to me and he had just opened up another portal to cleanse it of the house pieces. He looked over at me, as though he had sensed me watching him.

"I have to go and see for myself." I said to him as I caught more falling debris. I could see that Yugo knew exactly what I meant. He gave me a lopsided smile and nodded.

"We've got things handled here." Yugo said, making my heart skip a beat. I nodded back to him and cleared my portals of fallen debris.

Taking a deep breath, I looked up to the house that rests high in the old tree's branches. Reading myself for what I might see, I called upon my magic to well up in palms of my hands. Within a few seconds I have enough magic to make my portals and I disappear inside of them. Reappearing on the edge of a large branch, I felt as though a hot knife had embedded itself in my gut at all the damage that I saw.

My eyes want to well up with tears but I blinked them away before they could fall. I took another deep breath and let it out slowly before taking in the damage once more.

The once beautiful house is now in absolute ruins.

The petrified wooden walls that were bleached white by the sun were shattered in jagged pieces. The stairs that I had carved out of the tree myself were cracked and broken. The bleached floor of the house, decorated with the rings of the tree to show just how long it had lived, had puddles of mud, dirt and ashes scattered across it. Totems seemed to have sprouted from all over- the walls, the floor, and even the ceiling, only to collide with one of the previously said surfaces.

It was almost as though a tornado had come through here- only this one had fur, a tail and a magical hammer. As I walked through the house, I realized two things. One- everything that Moon and I had ever done together was completely destroyed or missing and I'm assuming that the things that are missing were thrown to fall on the village. And two- it had grown eerily quiet ever since I arrived at the house.

Then I went over to the medicine room that I'd made. Every single medical related plant was unpotted and smashed on the floor. All powders and extracts that I had been keeping in small bottles on a shelf were smashed. The table that I had set up to dry herbs and other plants was flipped over, spilling everything on the floor to mix and mingle with everything else that was there.

Feeling a little numb, I made another portal in front of me. Stepping through it, I brought myself up to the very top of the tree. What I saw there seemed to take that previously mentioned hot knife and twist it in it's spot. The large and beautiful tree that I had planted was uprooted and toppled over on it's side. Just beside it was the rope that I was using to make a hammock strewn over the entirety of the space.

The tears were certainly making themselves known now, and my heart was hurting at the sight. Moon was clearly angry at something, and no matter how hard I think about it, I can't understand what I did wrong. What could I have possibly done to deserve this?

Before my mind could start to try and figure out what was happening around me, my head turned in the direction of a noise that I'd heard. As I turned my head, I saw a moving shape out of the corner of my eye. My eyes widened as I instantly recognized it for who it was. Before my mind could try and stop me, my body began to move.

I ran after the little shape, following it down the wooden stairs on the side of the large totem. Down we went, and I chased after it as the shape jumped into the forest. Once it disappeared in the trees I used my portals to keep up. I felt an over-whelming desperation come over over me as I gave chase to the shape, and I followed it to the very best of my abilities.

"Wait...!" I called out, catching a glimpse of the shape to my left. I turned my body and followed it. "I need to talk to you...!" I said, and I could hear the desperation in my voice. "Moon!"

The tree line suddenly broke, making me stumble as I came out of my last portal. The shape finally stopped and landed on a large rock. Then I saw Moon turn around to face me with a scowl.

I flinched at the sudden hostility, but used my portals to land on a rock just in front of Moon's. He stared at me quietly as my mind tried to make the first sentence that it could while under Moon's fierce glare. I opened my mouth to say something, but nothing came out. When I tried again my mouth was too dry to produce any words. I then lowered my eyes and took a calming breath.

"W- why..." my voice caught and I found myself unable to finish my sentence. As it turns out I didn't need to. When I'd looked up again, there was only a packed traveling bag in the spot where Moon had been standing only a moment ago. Tears sprung to my eyes as my mind registered what this meant.

A sob bubbled out of my chest and I my body felt weak. My knees buckled and I landed hard, most likely scraping my knees on the unforgiving rock. And I stared at the bag. It was a simple shoulder bag with two straps to wear over both shoulders. Attached to it's side was a canteen for water and I was sure that the inside was filled with both food and clothes. For a monkey with no words, Moon's actions were understood loud and clear.

I'm not sure how long I stayed there, just staring at the bag, but the entire time tears were running freely down my cheeks. Eventually the tears dried and my head was pounding again. With great effort, I eventually stood up on both of my feet again. I walked over to the bag, hopping over the small gap between the separate rocks, and picked it up. I glanced around me and was mildly surprised when I noticed that these rocks were along the beach.

Looking around, I found myself a relatively flat rock and made my way towards it. Just behind this flat rock was a tall one that I could use to lean up against. I sat myself down on the smaller rock and let my back lean against the larger one as I placed the bag between my legs. I watched as the dark water of the ocean glistened in the moonlight. My mind felt rather blank as I watched, and I sat there for a long time by myself.

Eventually, my mind rebooted enough to think. With my heart feeling quite numb, I glanced down at the bag situated between my knees. At sometime during my watching of the ocean, I had leaned forward on my bag and placed my chin on the back of my hands. My hands were on top of the bag and my arms were hanging heavily on the bag.

' _I can't stay on this island anymore._ ' I thought to myself with a sigh.

The village had cast me out long ago. They would not allow me back- especially now that they know Moon has banished me as well. My only choice then, is to leave the island. I could try to live in the island forest, but that would never last long with all of the dangers that live here. Things would be hard in the winter too, with no place to store food or a well-insulated place to sleep- I'd either starve or freeze to death.

Then I realized that even if I get off of the island, I'd still have the predicament of having no where to go or stay. I don't really have anything to trade for a place to stay either.

My eyes lazily landed on a plant in the distance- it had somehow wormed it's way between the large rocks of the beach and was now making a place for itself to live amongst them. I felt my eyes widen a little as I realized that I could do that too.

I was good with plants and I could identify the majority of them for being poisons or healing balms. I could simply make more medicines along my travels and trade them for places to stay and food to eat all the while expanding my knowledge of plants as I go.

The idea of learning more about plants made a soft smile come to my face. I leaned my head sideways on my hands and closed my eyes slowly. The moon had started to set in front of me when I thought of a small dilemma that made me frown.

It was well and good, what I'd do when I found a new land to live but... how was I supposed to search for a now land in the first place? I could only use my portals for so long and who knew the vast distances between the islands?

I let out a sigh and barely opened my eyes. A boat was floating in the distance with the moon shining brightly behind it. Maybe Yugo and the others would let me aboard their ship? At least until they stopped at a fairly large land that was already populated with people, right? Yugo _had_ mentioned something about heading to a specific island though. It was called O... Oran? It was something with an O. Or is it a D...? Either way, the island that he is supposed to be going to has his family on it. Which means that it's probably populated with people.

As I think about the possibility of finding Yugo's family, I don't mind in the least bit the idea of living near him. Spending my time with Yugo's group in itself was a pleasant thought. And now that I think about it, if the place that Yugo is going has more people like him, there would also be more people who are like me. The two of us are rather similar, in our taste of clothing and with our powers. The two of us might even be from the same place or part of the same people.

My eyes closed once more and I felt a little more relaxed. The numbness in my chest started to fade into a calm as I thought about the possibility of traveling with them. Even if it was for a little while, it made me feel better to know that I knew the people that I'd be traveling with.

* * *

 _"What's this?" I asked, raising one of my eyebrows at my dragon sister. Our connection had been cut and I had gone out to look for her out of worry. I'd been looking for my sister for hours only to find her here, in the company of another dragon. My sister gave me a sheepish smile as she could feel my slight annoyance from having to worry for nothing during the past hour or so._

 _"Elena." My dragon sister said, clearing her throat delicately. Well, as delicate as a dragon could get. "I found the dragon that will complete me." She tilted her large head in the direction of the white and blue-be-speckled dragon laying down beside her in her hut. He also gave me a sheepish smile and lifted a single sharp talon in a wave of hello. If I didn't know any better I'd say that both of them were blushing._

 _"His name is Adamai." My sibling said and turned to face the new dragon. There was look on my siblings face that clearly showed just how enamored she was with him. Curious, I hid my smirk as best as I could. For as long as I could remember my sister has been talking about meeting that 'perfect' dragon that would one day steal her heart. I didn't know about the 'perfect' part, but Adamai had clearly stolen her heart._

 _"It's nice to meet you Adamai." I said politely with a nod of my head in the male dragon's direction. "I am Elena, Tehanu's half sister. I'm not sure if your familiar with it, but we come from one of the seven dofus' that were formed from the second union of the Great Dragon and our Goddess Eliatrope."_

 _To my surprise, Adamai nodded. From what I heard about the wild dragons from Tehanu, they rarely cared for the history of another race. They mostly cared about their territory and who was on it, which was why the battles between our races were so fierce in the beginning._

 _"I know." Adamai said, surprising me even further. "I am from one of the seven as well. My brother is the greatest warrior that the Eliatropes have ever seen."_

 _I gave the white dragon a wide, true smile. "Then I shall be looking forward to meeting him in the future." I said, knowing that I would eventually meet him if Adamai and Tehanu were mates. "I specialize in healing and create many different types of medicine for battle. It's rare for me to personally go on the battle field so it's very likely that we've not met." I put my hand on my chin as I thought. "I work closely with Qilby, as he collects knowledge, and I use his work to further my own. With my time so often kept in the laboratory, I usually leave the actual doctors work to others. It's been a long time since I went to the healers hut myself. Chibi says I should take a break every now and then but I can never seem to get away."_

 _Adamai seemed to perk up as I explained this to him and gave me a wide smile. "Chibi? My brother and I work closely with his dragon brother Grougaloragran." Adamai said and winced. "Grougal is a real slave driver, he makes my brother and I go through harsh training regimes in front of all the other military soldiers. I bet he's mad about me skipping this morning too..." The dragon shivered as genuine fear came to his eyes at the thought, making us laugh._

 _Before anything else could be said there was a rush of wind from behind me. I turned and watched as a large red and golden-scaled dragon landed just outside of Tehanu's hut. The scales all along her back are red. Her underbelly and the outlines of her wings are gold. She was quite magnificent to look at and was twice the size of my own dragon sister. If I had to compare Tehanu to something for size, it would be a cable car._

 _"Shinonome, hello!" I greeted with a smile. The dragon smiled back at me as she tucked her long wings against her sides._

 _"Hello, Elena." Shinonome said, her voice was low and gravely but you could still tell that she was a female. Her eyes then went up to the other dragons in the hut. "Tehanu, Adamai. Greetings."_

 _Both smaller dragons nodded their heads towards the pink dragon. Then she looked back down at me._

 _"My brother wishes to see you, healer. He has sent me to fetch you and bring you back to him."_

* * *

When I'd opened my eyes, I didn't recognize my surroundings for a moment. Then my memories from yesterday swarmed in my mind, reminding me of what had happened. I felt as though someone had added a heavy weight to my shoulders.

Moon had banished me.

My grip on the bag that was sitting in front of me tightened. I closed my eyes and willed the hurt to go away. When I opened my eyes again, my gaze fell on the ocean in front of me.

The water was still dark and murky looking, but the rays of the sun were slowly reaching out to the waves. The water that was touched by the sun almost instantly turned from dark and mysterious to light and sparkly. It was almost as though everything in the ocean's depths were filled with wonder instead of danger.

Once the sun had finally risen to a height that allowed it to reach all of the water out towards the horizon, I felt that a calm had washed over me. A small and sad smile was on my face as I knew exactly what I was to do. And I had known, for a long time now, that I would have to leave the island eventually. I just hadn't expected it to be in this way. Perhaps Moon had known too, and was simply giving me the push that I needed in order to leave him.

Something tickled my cheek and I brought up my hand to bush it away. I laughed a sad note as I realized that I had been crying again before wiping away all the tears that I could. I stood up, slinging one strap of my bag over my shoulder as I did. I heard the sound of a portal opening as I wiped my face again and didn't bother to turn around just yet.

"Hey Yugo." I said, wiping my wet hand on my clothes as I turned to face him. I was fairly sure that the tears had stopped, but I didn't know if I looked as though I had been crying or not.

Yugo looked as though he wanted to say something, but when he opened his mouth nothing came out. He then closed it again and looked down at his feet nervously. I gave him a sad smile as I could see that he only wanted to help, but he didn't know how.

"Can I ask you something?" I asked instead so that he didn't have to worry about trying to comfort me again. Yugo looked a bit surprised, but nodded.

"Uh, yeah, sure. Go ahead."

"Well, I'm very good at making medicines. If you and your friends agree, I would like to trade some of the medicine that I make for a passage on your ship." I said looking at Yugo hopefully. "I'd like to go to another island, maybe one that has people on it already. Anywhere but here would be ideal really."

Yugo stared at me for a moment and I saw many emotions flicker through his eyes. It was when I noticed the disbelief there that my heart sank. He was certainly not expecting me to ask to join their crew. Maybe they didn't want me along either. But they are my only way off of this island, so I had to ask.

I looked away from Yugo's eyes to look down at my feet. I didn't want to see any other emotions and I could only hope that hate was not one of them. After all, ever since I met Yugo I've been nothing but trouble for him.

"Sure!" Yugo suddenly said, making me look back at him quickly.

He had a bright smile on his face directed it at me with his cheeks slightly flushed. He scratched the back of his neck with one hand and couldn't seem to meet my eye. "It'd be great if you came along, Elena! I'm sure that we could use your help and..." His smile faded and he looked down again. He somehow looked rather shy as he spoke. If I hadn't been waiting to hear what he had to say, I probably wouldn't have heard him. "...I think that we're very similar. We're probably part of the same people. And your the first other person like me that I've come across. If we'd just leave you behind, well..." Yugo looked up at me and I could see a determination in his eyes.

"I came all this way to find you, Elena." Yugo said with a finality to his voice. "I want to get to know you and I want to figure out what we are. I don't think that I'd be able to do it without your help. That's why, I didn't want to leave the island without you. I came to find my family, my people, and I can only hope that you will be a part of it."

I stayed quiet as I listened to what Yugo had to say. My eyes were wide and I didn't know how to respond. Do I thank him? I've never met someone who had sought me out in order to ask me to stay by their side before.

After I got over that startling fact, I looked away from his eyes once again. I felt the need to cry for some reason, but I fought against it as best as I could.

"I..." I cleared my throat but didn't look up. "I've never had a family before, Yugo. I wouldn't know the first thing about being in one. And I don't know anything about who I am either." I gave Yugo an apologetic look then. "All that I know is that I am Elena. And I was found on this island, raised by the island, then rejected by it. I don't think that any family would want to have someone like that in it."

"I already said that I did didn't I?" Yugo responded, giving me a warm smile. "You don't have to be anything but yourself, Elena. All that I know of a family is from my dad. Other than him, my friends are probably the closet thing that I have to a real family right now." Yugo then made a portal with one of his hands and smiled at me as he extended his other one. "Come on. You don't have to trade anything with us. And I definitely want you to stay with us for longer than one island that's populated with people."

Tears were most definitely falling down my cheeks now, but Yugo acted as though he couldn't see them. He just gave me a wider smile and waited for my hand. I wiped my eyes and felt much lighter than I was a few minutes before.

"Okay," I said softly and gave Yugo my hand. My eyes were dry now and I happily let Yugo drag me through the portal.


	7. Dragon Sibling

"I see you've convinced her to come with us, Yugo?" Rule said after he noticed how Yugo and I had appeared out of a portal. I blinked at the Enutrof while Yugo simply got a wide, victorious smile on his face for his answer.

"Elena! I'm glad you could make it!" I heard Amalia say, and I turned to look over at her. She was sitting nearby and sporting a gleaming smile on her pretty face. "Moon looked a little sad when we were leaving, but when I mentioned that we'd make sure to keep you safe, he brightened right up! I think that he wanted you to come with us too."

I couldn't help the skip in my heartbeat at the mention of Moon. I felt the blood run out of my face, but I did my best to not let it show. I gave Amalia my best smile, and she seemed satisfied with that.

"I'm glad Yugo was able to find you, Elena." I turned my head to see Evangeline walking over to Yugo and I with a soft smile on her face. "When Moon showed up later, and without you, I had worried that something had happened. The little monkey looked so dejected I didn't really know what to think!"

I felt my heart start to pound a little bit harder. I didn't know what to say. It wasn't often at _all_ that other people worried about me. "Oh, ah... I'm... I'm alight now... so..." I swallowed and gave Evangeline a smile of my own. I knew it didn't reach my eyes as I felt rather lightheaded. "Thanks... thanks for worrying?" Her smile grew into a fond look towards me, and I spotted Dally approaching just behind her. He had a goofy smile on his face and patted me on the head once he got close enough.

"Don't worry, Ella! Sir. Percedal shall be your protector!" He said, but not a few seconds after the words were said, Dally's face turned green and he quickly ran back to the edge of the ship.

"Come on, Elena, I'll show you around!" said Yugo excitedly, tugging at my hand. He had yet to let go of it and I found that his grip had gotten a little tighter as I was talking to the others. Had he somehow noticed how uncomfortable I'd gotten when they mentioned Moon?

Yugo brought me to the stairs that led under the deck. Half way down the stairs, Yugo squeezed my hand, then let it go. The movement was so quick, I barely had time to register the action.

"You know, once we thought that our boat was haunted." Yugo suddenly said, his voice quite serious. I glanced over at him curiously as we came up to the first room. He was walking beside me with a fond smile on his face, facing me slightly as he talked. My heart rate was getting back to normal again as I gladly let Yugo distract me from what the others had said above deck.

"Why's that?" I asked, glancing around the spacious room that had a hammock in one corner and a bed big enough to fit four people easily. I put down my bag that I had been carrying this entire time- I still haven't gone through it- and turned to face Yugo completely. Yugo's look had gone rather serious but I could still see a look of mischievousness in his eyes.

"One by one, everyone started to disappear."

My eyes grew wide in astonishment, then narrowed into suspicion. "You sure they weren't just going to the bathroom?" I asked, but Yugo shook his head.

"Nope. We heard screams. And there was blood. A lot of it, and it was all over the place." I sat down on the bed as Yugo started to animate his story. He was showing me with his hands just how much blood was all over the place. "All over the walls, and trails along the floors. The first person to disappear was Scribble-he's our map. Rule was the one to wake us all up since he was steering the boat...

"Eva was the first one who figured out that we weren't alone on the boat. That's when we heard a scream coming from below deck...! Not having any other choice, we went to investigate the reserves." Yugo had dropped his voice low and adopted a story-telling look. "We went below deck where Amalia fell down the ladder- there was a red substance there and she'd slipped on it. We followed the trail of red smeared all over, to a door with a red hand print on the side of it. When it was opened, Eva walked in."

"Was she alright?" I asked, leaning forward from my spot on the bed. Yugo wasn't giving anything away with the emotions on his face.

"She was facing us, so she didn't see it until she saw our faces. Just behind her, slowly sitting up, was a very pale and sick creature. Eva turned around slowly, then screamed when she saw it. Amalia, Rule and I screamed in return, scared for our friend..." My eyes were wide and I had to think a moment to clamp my jaw closed. "But when nothing happened to her, we stopped and saw that it was just Dally." The sudden nonchalant remark from Yugo made me smile, as he had me strung along with the seriousness of his tone. "Just as we were getting our breath back, I looked around and saw that Rule had disappeared. Amalia had just finished calling him a coward before we heard a rather desperate scream that sounded very Rule-like."

"What'd you guys do?" I asked when Yugo paused. I scooted back a bit, crossing my legs in front of me so that Yugo could sit on the bed while facing me. He gave me a smile as he crossed his legs too, then set his hands in his lap before he continued.

"We checked on Dally, to make sure that he was okay." I laughed and Yugo joined in with a big smile on his face. When we were done he took another breath to talk. "Well, Eva found a lantern and lit it.

"We ran out of that room, thinking that Eva was right on our heals. We followed another scream and stopped here..." I listened closely, intrigued that such a thing could have happened on this boat. "There were new trails of blood going along the walls and floors, like someone had been dragged. Amalia was scared for her life."

"And I'm sure _you_ weren't scared." I stated with a smile. He looked away from my eyes.

"Of course!" Yugo said, scratching his cheek before resuming the tale with another smile. "We followed the trail right back to the room that we had left. We started to look around, and that's when it grabbed it me!"

My eyes widened, "What was it?" Yugo smiled.

"It was Scribble! He had possessed a spider that had eaten him when we left him out on the pole that night."

"Your _map_?" I asked feeling a smile tugging at my lips. "All that, and it was the map?"

"Yup!" Yugo laughed, and I joined in. "I asked Scribble why he was doing all of this as he captured Amalia. Az had flown in and worked on untying me. Scribble was jealous of Rubilax for having a guardian, see. He even made Dally pass out by feeding boxes of red berries, which he kept on throwing up- which was why there was red all over the place."

"Ewww..." I said, making a face. Yugo laughed at that.

"We were hanging upside down on the ceiling and Scribble had put webbing over everyone's mouths so that they couldn't talk. My hands were bound together too, so I couldn't use my portals. Scribble had really thought all of this through." I nodded in agreement, while I watched as Yugo held his hands together as though they were trapped by something invisible to our eyes. "So I told Scribble to come with us. I said that I'd be his guardian if he let us all go."

"Did it work?" I asked, a smile on my face as Yugo pretended to break free of his invisible binding.

"That's when Az broke me free!" Yugo said with a large smile on his face, "Scribble tried to get me again, but it didn't work. He reluctantly went back into his map- but only after I _promised_ to be his guardian." Just as Yugo's smile would have turned smug, we both got jolted to the right as a loud _'_ _ **THUMP**_ _'_ echoed in the room. It had felt as though the ship had hit something, and Yugo and I exchanged worried glances before we hurried up onto the deck.

There, I saw that Amalia was laying down on her stomach as she was watching the white clouds in the sky. Just behind her and leaning on the railing of the boat, Dally was being sick. Evangeline looked to have been keeping him company for a while now. On top of the cabin that the stairs to below deck were built, Rule was standing with the wheel of the ship. He was looking determinedly at the ocean far ahead. And none of them seemed worried about the sound nor the jarring hit that the boat seemed to have taken.

I looked to Yugo and saw that he seemed to be just as confused as I was. After a few minutes Yugo and I decided to pass off the incident as something not to worry about as the boat did not begin to sink nor was there another loud sound. Yugo then spoke up to Rule as we made our way over to him, making our presence on the deck known.

"The ship's good as new, Rule!" Yugo commented as the two of us made our way over to him. I nodded beside Yugo as we stopped beside the large steering wheel to chat without shouting to one another.

"The ship looks much better than the last time that I was on it." I said casually.

"You were on our ship before?" Yugo asked, clearly surprised. I nodded.

"I helped you guys get out from under wreckage of wood that was here. It was when you first arrived at my island."

"You mean Moon Island?" I looked behind Rule to see that it was the map that had spoken. It was raising a piece of his paper at me as though it was an eyebrow. I looked a little closer and saw that his entire face seemed not to be made of paper but a red ink which the Shushu used to make his facial expressions. "You helped everyone else out, but left me under a post- squashed?!"

I gave the map a sheepish smile once I realized what it was saying to me- and getting over the fact that the map had indeed just _spoken_. At the time that I had shown up on the boat, I really hadn't thought that a map would be anywhere really...

"Sorry, I didn't even know you were there," I said, hoping to placate him. My words only seemed to get the Shushu angrier though.

"See! _This_ is why I don't like being imprisoned as a map! First people try to tell me what to do all the time! Then others start to mistake me as some normal piece of _parchment_...! And then-!" Scribble kept on ranting to himself but Yugo, Rule and I tuned him out.

"How long till we get to Oma Rule?" Yugo asked, his eyes questioning the elder.

"I'm sure that we'll see Oma Island by the end of the evening." Rule responded while glancing at Scribble, acting as though the map hadn't spoken at all.

"Are you even listening to me?!" Scribble called out loudly to try and get our attention. But then he went back to ranting to himself. "And now I'm even ignored! After all of the kindness that I've show towards these people-!" He hadn't even tried waiting for a response from us. I laughed softly as I watched both Rule and Yugo continue their conversation as though Scribble had never said a word. An angry twitch had appeared in the map's eyebrow as it glared at us.

"As long as Dally doesn't hit another Albatrocious." Yugo said with a smirk directed at the red headed Iop.

"Hey!" Dally called out weakly in protest from beside the railing of the boat. I wondered silently on how he could have heard Yugo from all the way over there as he tried to defend himself- only to have his face turned green a second later. Evangeline rubbed Dally's back in pity as he came up for air. "That thing about Albarocious' being good luck is atrocious- I bet we'll arrive at Oma Island without a scratch!"

Not a moment after Dally had made his declaration, a thick fog started to surround the ship. My eyes grew wide in alarm as Yugo and I shared a worried look and watched as Evangeline ran to the bow of the ship. I managed to catch Amalia sending a glare towards Dally.

"The universe hates you, doesn't it Dally." I said worriedly.

"He makes it too easy." Yugo stated from beside me. Before I understood what was happening, a large black tentacle rose from the waters and landed on the railing of the ship with a loud _'_ ** _CRACK_** _'_ from the splintering wood. My body moved before my mind could follow as I spotted something move towards me out of the corner of my eye. Feeling the hair on the back of my neck prickle, I dodged out of the way of a second tentacle. A third tentacle rose out of the water and swiftly wrapped itself around the ship.

I saw Yugo land beside me a second or so later as the rest of our companions rolled or stumbled towards the middle of the ship's deck- the only place that had yet to be taken over by the large black tentacles. I heard the others yell out in alarm as the entire ship was suddenly lifted high out of the water. It was all I could do to stay standing upright.

With a loud splash of something large breaking the surface of the water, the head of a very large Kralove appeared before us. My eyes went wide and my jaw fell slack at it's sheer size. It roared in anger at us.

We all yelled in fear in response to the roar. Not a moment later, I felt the familiar feeling of butterflies in my stomach as we were suddenly thrown high into the air. I could barely manage to make myself hang on to the nearest part of the ship I could find before I felt pain explode against the back of my head. My vision flashed red before it settled to darkness.

* * *

 _I skipped along happily, down the worn dirt path while holding Mina's hand. Mina is an Eliatrope, like me, who grew up in the church. I like to think of her as a blood sister, and call her as such, but she has told me that we are not truly related in that way. She told me that we have two different parents, but each of us were born with a dragon twin- so we come from the Goddess Eliatrope and the Great Dragon. So we are related, but at the same time we're not. Mina and the priest's of the church took the better part of a day trying to explain it to me, but I still had trouble understanding it._

 _Mina is fifteen, a whole ten years older than me, and she's already a priestess! I'm told that that's a great achievement and it makes me proud to be her little sister (regardless if it's through the God's or by blood). Mina had just picked me up from my Extra-Special Lessons with Eliatrope Glip and his dragon brother, Balthazar. They're the one's who usually tell me all sorts of stories about dragons and Eliatropes and then test me on it afterwards._

 _"Hey, where are we going?" I asked Mina, curiously when I noticed that we were no longer on the path that led to the church. I'd stopped skipping and stopped humming the tune that Glip had used to sing today's story during our lesson. Mina glanced down at me with a smile._

 _"We're going to the temple. The new one that was just finished being built." Mina responded then proceeded to stare into the distance again. She was probably thinking about her boyfriend, Chibi, who's away on a trip with some other boys. Chibi's told me that he's the same age as Mina but, I haven't been fooled like all of the grown ups. Chibi's hair is just as white as Glip's and Glip's wife, Nora- and they're ancient! This means that Chibi must be their age. I am certain of it._

 _"Why are we going to the temple, Mina? Is it really pretty there or something?" I asked. Mina simply shook her head with a smile directed at me._

 _"Nope. Well, yes it's pretty, but that's not why we're going there. I'm taking you to meet someone."_

 _"Meet someone new?" I asked feeling my eyes get wider at the prospect. "Do you think that they're gonna want to be my new friend Mina?!"_

 _She only laughed. "Yes, probably."_

 _I looked forward and down the path that Mina was taking me with an all-new interest. I suddenly hoped to get to the temple that much faster._

* * *

When I'd opened my eyes, the very first thing that I knew was the searing hot pain of water residing in my lungs. Instantly sitting up, I turned over on my side with lung-retching coughs as I fought to replace the water with air. A good minute or so passed before I finally got a full breath that little to no water in it. My chest was heaving as I let myself fall back from my sitting up position to lay down on my side on the ground.

As I marveled at how much I loved air, my eyes stared unseeingly at the ground. Only after my breath finally came back in a normal rhythmic pattern did I realize that I had a fist full of soft sand in one hand. Confused, I sat up properly and looked about me, rubbing the sand off of my right cheek gently. With a jolt and sudden frenzy of panic in my heart I realized that I was on the beach of some sort of island. The ocean stretched out far into the horizon in front of me. A thick forest was growing at my back. To either side of me, a long stretch of sand disappeared into the island. And worst of all, in any direction that I looked, I couldn't see nor hear _any_ of the others.

Swallowing down my sudden panic, I slowly stood up from the sand and dusted it off of me as best as I could. Feeling a little dizzy, I wondered how long I had been out in the sun on the beach as I turned in a circle to make sure that there really wasn't anyone near me. Then I faced the forest. I could clearly see a tall mountain just beyond it and it seemed to tower over everything else. I took a quick third scan of the area before swallowing, suddenly feeling rather parched, and started to make my way towards the mountain.

If I am at the top of the mountain, maybe I'd be able to spot where the others are. I then called upon my magic and made two portals so I could hop between the branches of the trees. As I did so I spotted a ripe citronana and picked it.

I smiled as I peeled my fruit on the go. I made sure to watch where I placed my feet as I took a bite of the citronana. I also made sure to to keep my eyes peeled for anyone else as I moved. It didn't take me very long after that to reach the base of the large mountain. When I looked up at the cliff, I saw that there were multiple large roots that were sticking out of the rock. It was almost as though there was a tree who had claimed this entire mountain as it's own by burying it's roots in it.

I smiled at the prospect of seeing another large tree similar to the one that I lived in with Moon for the majority of my life. With a slight pang to my heart, I then easily used my portals to help me climb the mountain. About half way up the mountain side, I took a moment to look around the area to see if I could spot anyone yet. It was only when I reached the peek of the mountain that I was met with a pleasant surprise- I wasn't the only one who had decided to go to higher ground it seemed.

"Yugo!" I said happily as soon as I had spotted him. His head whipped around to spot me, clearly surprised to see me too. As soon as he recognized me, a wide smile appeared on his face.

"Elena! Your alright!" Yugo said, waving me over. I spotted an unfamiliar figure just behind him and felt myself grow curious. It looked to be a white and blue reptile with brown horns coming out of the top of it's head. And it was walking on two legs.

"I've never seen you before." I said, stating the obvious while tilting my head to the side in curiosity. "What are you?"

The reptile gave me a wide smile. "I am the amazing, the wonderful, charismatic, fantastic, acrobatic, enigmatic dragon Adaaaaaamaiiiiii!" He said, moving his arms around and doing a small flip where he stood as he introduced himself. Then he suddenly pointed at Yugo and I with a grin. "And you both are the Eliatropes Yugo and Elena!"

"Elia-loafs?" I asked, my brow furrowing slightly. Somehow I couldn't help but believe that this creature was a dragon. Something in me told me that that was undeniably true. So I simply wondered more about what Adamai had said about Yugo and I. "I don't know what that is either..."

"Nope, an Eliatrope!" Adamai said in a rather bubbly voice. He sounded rather pleased to be meeting us. "That's what you and my brother are. Your both Eliatropes. And I've heard a lot of stories about the two of you."

"Wait, how can we be brothers?" Yugo asked then, and we both stepped forward until we were sitting on our knees in front of the small dragon. "How can we be brothers when your a dragon and I'm an Eliatrope?"

"That's because we're twin brothers who are born from the same Dofus." Adamai said, sitting down with us. Then he looked over at me. "You have a twin sister too, who was in your Dofus, Elena." My eyes widened at that- I'd never thought about my own family before and here I'm finding out that I have a sister!

"But isn't a Dofus a dragon egg?" Yugo asked, clearly knowing more about dragons than I.

"Yes it is." Adamai said, looking quite proud of Yugo. "Dragons lay only one Dofus when they fall in love. Long ago, in the time before time, dragons roamed the world freely. These dragons worshiped the Great Dragon and the Goddess Eliatrope who are the father and mother of all life in the universe. One day, the dragons began to lay unusual Dofus which contained a baby dragon and another baby who had the form of a human. This only happened seven times.

"The human formed babies were greatly skilled in an ancient magic called Wakfu. The dragons gave them the names 'Eilatropes', in homage to the Goddess. And through their study of Wakfu, the Eliatropes made great inventions like the portals that still allow humans to travel from one end of the world to the other."

"Ahh, Zaap portals!" Yugo said in excitement with a smile. His eyes were practically sparkling.

"But then, where did all of the Eliatropes go?" I asked, extremely curious. I was leaning forwards a bit a Adamai spoke. _Something_ must have happened to the Eliatropes for Yugo to have to go looking for them and for me to not have grown up with them.

"No one knows." Adamai said, his voice getting a mysterious yet sad tone to it. "One day they just disappeared. The only things left of them are their finest inventions and two eggs. One of which hatched ten years ago and," Adamai looked over at me. "The second one must have hatched too. And that's how we were all born."

"Does that mean that my dragon sister isn't here?" I asked feeling sad at the thought. Adamai looked down at the ground for a moment in shared sadness with me.

"It does." he said, "Grougaloragran was looking after Yugo and I. I didn't even know that your Dofus had hatched, Elena, and I know even less who was supposed to be watching over it..."

I looked down feeling a sadness in my chest. Just what had happened to me to get to that island? And how was I separated from my dragon sibling?

"Who's Grougaloragran?" Yugo asked instead, and I was grateful that he decided to change the subject.

"He's a dragon as old as the hills, and he's the one who chose the human that raised you." Adamai was looking at Yugo when he said this, "But around the same time that he was looking for someone to watch over you, Yugo, he was attacked and gravely injured. Ever since that day he attacks any vessel that gets too close to Oma."

"Then, if I've understood, the only family that I have is you and..." Yugo said and glanced at me. "We're the very last Eliatropes..."

"That's right." Adamai confirmed looking sadly at his feet. I felt my hart twinge in protest in my chest at the dragon's confirmation. "I know you must be a little disappointed, not to have found more of an extended family, Yugo."

"Are you kidding?" Yugo said making Adamai look back at us with surprise. "I found another Eliatrope and I found my brother- and that's you Adamai! I couldn't be happier! Now I want my friends to meet you!"

"You know where everyone else is?" I asked him with surprise.

"Well, actually, they got lost like you and I did." Yugo said and scratched the back of his head nervously. Then he looked over at Adamai. "Can you help us find them?"

"Actually," Adamai said, perking up, "I already know where they are! I saw them just before I bumped into Yugo. They were looking for the two of you."

Yugo and I grinned as Adamai said that. I was glad that we were going to find the others and make sure that they were alright. At that moment the ground shook and Yugo and I looked around us in alarm. We were not going to doubt the world shaking around us again.

"An earthquake?" I asked aloud but Adamai shook his head.

"Nope. That was just Grougaloragran." he said calmly. My eyes widened and I stared at the dragon incredulously. Just how big does a creature need to be in order to easily cause earthquakes?

"What?" I asked and saw that Yugo also had a hard time believing the white dragon too. Adamai gave us a mischievous smile in response.

"That's right! Now follow me!"

As the words were leaving his mouth Adamai had already hopped up to his feet and jumped off of the peek of the mountain. Yugo and I both shared a wide eyed look before we hastily followed him. Using our portals, it was easy for us to catch up to Adamai as he led us to a cliff just before the forest started. It over looked a part of the beach and made the forest surrounding the mountain look small from our height. If I looked far enough into the distance, I could see my island- the totem that Moon had made for Saul was easy to spot sprouting out of it.

I had always been alone before Moon found me, and even then I was the only human that would talk to me willingly. Now I find that Yugo and I are of the same race but we are the only ones left. It made my heart pound in sadness, anger and relief. I was glad that I could be here for Yugo, he is almost always surrounded by his friends who are both good to him and make him happy. Then he decided to take me along in his adventure, sharing the good that his friends gave him with me. No matter what, I want to stand by his side and support him, even if the rest of our people are not here anymore. Because of Yugo I am no longer alone, now I can only hope that he will never feel alone in return- despite us being the last of our people.

"Don't worry." Adamai said, cutting me out of my thoughts. "The two of you might be the last Eliatropes but there's nothing to say that it will always be that way." Yugo and I looked over at Adamai curiously. "Grougaloragran believes that there's a way to find out what happened to our brethren. And if there is a way of finding them, I'd do anything to help."

I nodded at Adamai's statement. "That's right. I've got to find out what happened too." I reminded Yugo. "And I'm sure everyone else would help too."

"So your not really alone, Yugo. You've got me, Elena and your friends too!" Adamai said, turning to Yugo with a hopeful smile. Yugo gave us a shy smile in thanks before his eyes widened.

"My friends! I'd completely forgotten about them!" Yugo said making me roll my eyes at him. He didn't seem to notice though. I didn't know how he could have possibly forgotten about them. "We were separated when our boat sank... A huge monster had attacked us."

"They don't seem to be on this beach either." I said, making a sweep of the beach with my eyes to make sure.

"That monster was Grougal." Adamai said while shrugging his shoulders. "He attacks any boats that approach the island without asking any questions. I saw them on the beach here, calling out for the two of you before I found Yugo. Let's find them and introduce them to Grougaloragran!"

Adamai got down on all fours while Yugo bent in a sprinting position. I raised an eyebrow at the unsaid race that was apparently happening. I rolled my eyes at the happy smirk on Yugo's face but got down into a sprinting position anyways. I wasn't about to let them have all the fun and I shared a competitive look with Adamai. I smirked when I noticed that Az had flown out of Yugo's hat and was trying to copy us just between Adamai and Yugo.

"Ok bro! And the first one to find them wins!" Yugo said determinedly.

"What do we win?" I asked quickly and Yugo had to think for a moment before he answered.

"The losers have to do what the winner wants for a week!" And with that said, Yugo pushed off from his spot much like how I did the first time that we raced. Adamai and I were ready though, and instantly gave chase.

As the three of us were free falling, I could feel the wind ripping tears from my eyes which made it all the more difficult to keep them open. I had a huge smile on my face and noticed that the other two had identical looks on their own faces. Their looks made me laugh happily as this was the first time that I had done this with other people. Moon would never free fall with me because he never liked going through my portals. For some reason it would always make the little monkey sick.

The only time that I would free fall was when I was going to go deep sea fishing. Just before I would hit the water I'd make a portal for myself just under the water's surface, allowing me to zoom to the water's depths with little resistance. That's when I'd open more portals and catch a bunch of fish in them before swimming up to the surface again. Once I released the fish on the beach I would pick out the very best one before putting the rest back into the ocean.

I didn't give my heart the chance to feel the pain that Moon's name seemed to be bringing me as of late because just like the ocean water had, the forest floor was rushing up to greet me. With a wide grin, I summoned my portals at the very last moment. I saw that Yugo had simply summoned two portals and was about to run across the forest floor, then decided against doing the same myself- I didn't want to trip or something. Instead, I summoned much more than two portals and slingshotted myself forward, through each one of them. I stopped when I reached the tree branches and started to hop between them like I had before as Yugo ran just below me. Adamai was easily flying between us.

"If they ran into Grougaloragran already, do you think that he would hurt them?" Yugo asked Adamai suddenly as he ran. I glanced down at them and saw that Adamai had shaken his head no.

"No, dragons can see the souls of others- you know? Grougal will know them immediately!" Adamai responded.

"Is that how he was able to choose my dad Alibert?"

"Yeah! He saw right away that he would be the best dad that you could possibly have!" Adamai said, which made me think about the people back on my island. They had passed me around from household to household whenever it was convenient. Had a dragon really _willingly_ given me into their care?

I let out a surprised a yelp when I felt someone tug on my ankle suddenly. My world became a blur for just a moment as I was pulled downwards by Adamai and crashed into Yugo. The three of us rolled into a tangle of limbs on the ground. Once we had recovered enough to realize what had happened, Yugo glared at his brother.

"Hey! No cheating-" Yugo started to say as I tried to get up. Adamai quickly shushed Yugo and grabbed my wrist so that I wouldn't move. When we both looked to Adamai in surprise, he pointed up at something in the sky. There was a swarm of glowing bugs where Adamai pointed and they were making an odd sound that hurt my ears.

"What are they?" I asked quietly, rubbing my ears as the bugs flew by in a large swarm. Adamai had let go of my arm and I was free to crawl off of Yugo.

"Sentinels." Adamai responded in a whisper then made a gesture with his hand for us to follow him. "Come on."

Both Yugo and I followed Adamai quietly until he stopped just in front of a large bush. He pushed over some of the branches and leaves to reveal a large wooden structure being made by small creatures in hoods. Flying around them are the 'sentinel' bugs.

"What are they doing here?" Adamai wondered out loud. I shrugged but then spotted three bugs flying off in the direction towards the beach.

"Why don't we see if those bugs will lead us somewhere?" I said while pointing towards the group. Yugo and Adamai nodded and the three of us made our way around the building site. Once we were in the clear, I made a portal to the closest tree branches in the direction that I'd seen the sentinels fly. The three of us quietly went through it and appeared on the exact branch that I had wanted.

The bugs flew by underneath us and I noticed that they were all made of metal. They seemed to be making a clicking sound to one another as they flew in a V formation. It was an odd site to see, but Yugo, Adamai and I followed the three sentinels easily.

The bugs led us to the very edge of the forest, where we perched ourselves on the branch of a tree that gave us a perfect view of the entire beach. On the beach were multiple wooden structures that looked very close in design to the previous wooden structure being built by the small cloaked people. In the sand, just beside the closest building is a design that reminded me of three gears that belong inside of a machine in order to make it work.

I watched with curiosity as the three metal bugs that we were following flew just above the drawing in the sand. They then flew in a triangular position in the air before rapidly flying in a perfect circle. I felt a familiar surge of magic that came from the bugs as they flew in their circle and my eyes widened in shock as I realized that they were doing.

"Set up the machines quickly!" the voice of one of the hooded creatures carried over to us. "The master's time is precious."

"Whoa, they know how to open portals too." Yugo said beside me. I nodded in response and glanced at him and Adamai.

"Looks like us Eliatrope aren't the only ones who can do that on demand anymore." I said jokingly as we all watched as more hooded creatures come out of the newly formed portal. They were rolling large gears and other building supplies through the portal with them. I saw something move out of the corner of my eye and turned my head towards the movement quickly, catching the boy's attention. Just behind Adamai, on the other side of Yugo, another bug shot by.

The three of us shared a concerned look before the tree that we were perched in started to shake violently. My eyes widened in shock as I tried to hold onto the branch that we were on, but I was soon thrown off. I fell off the tree with my back facing the ground, which was why I easily saw that the tree itself was starting to fall towards me. Time seemed to slow down as I noticed Yugo falling out of the tree a moment later and my eyes widened in fear and surprise. It looked as though Yugo had willingly jumped to chase after me. My heart speeding up and thumping in my throat, I felt myself get sucked into a portal at the moment that I had made one to catch Yugo.

A small noise of surprise left me when my body suddenly came into contact with the ground. I heard Yugo hit the ground just beside me, letting out his own noise of discomfort in the process. The tree that we'd been standing in was now laying on the ground at an arms reach from Yugo and I.

Pushing myself up slowly with my elbows, I noticed a strangely colored leaf fall in front of me. I sat up and caught this little leaf from the air, only to watch in horror as it instantly crumbled into dust before my eyes. How could anyone do something like this? The tree was perfectly healthy not even a moment ago!

Just beside me, Yugo sat up on his knees with an equally horrified look on his face as he stared down at a leaf in his hands. A soft breeze blew by, making the leaf in his hand crumble into dust.

"This is horrible." Yugo said, his voice barely above a whisper. "Why are they doing this?"

"I wish I knew," I responded sadly, my voice was barely audible. Then Adamai flew over to us and put his hand on Yugo's shoulder.

"Come on, we have to go warn Grougal right away!" Adamai said, but before he finished his sentence a laugh sounded from just behind us. The three of us turned and put our backs to the fallen tree, only to see that we had been surrounded.

As I looked closer at the hooded creatures, I realized that they were not 'cloaked' at all, not really anyways. Every one of them had a hood on top of their heads that looked very much like a white bonnet, now that I was looking closer. It tied at the back of their heads and around their long blue horns that were about the same length of their bodies and sprouted out at the sides of their heads. The short creatures had no other clothes on, except for a loin cloth that was wrapped around their hips. I found myself wondering how the small creatures could carry the weight of their horns on their heads so easily and without loosing their balance.

Yugo and I stood up and took battle stances as the creatures shuffled closer.

"The master will be pleased..." one cackled, and I narrowed my eyes at the fight I instinctively knew was coming.


	8. Grougaloragran

On my left, I saw Adamai crouch down for only a moment before he launched himself high into the air. Then Yugo and I had disappeared into portals of our own makings. When I reappeared hidden amongst the branches of a nearby tree, I was able to see that the bonnet-clad-creatures had started to back away.

If they threw one of their weapons at us, Yugo or I would turn the attack against them. If they tried to surprise attack us, they'd fall into one of our portals and find themselves being constantly re-launched back into the air. If they tried to attack Adamai, they'd get get hit by his tail or claws. There was with enough force in Adamai's blows that the creatures would get thrown into one another hard enough to knock several of them out all at once.

"T- they're too strong..!" I'd heard one of the creatures call out, and a murmur of agreement passed through our enemy's ranks.

I couldn't help the smirk that came to my face as I wondered why they had bothered to attack us in the first place if they were only going to retreat a few minutes later. I had been hiding in the trees as I made portals for the creatures to fall into and shoot out of. Yugo was knocking the creatures out with his fists mid-air, using his portals to keep himself moving and out of reach of the enemy. Then I saw that one of the creatures was slightly larger than the rest and standing apart from the others. It came forward and yelled out loudly.

"The Grambo who retreats will answer to the Master!" The creature sounded a little hysterical as it spoke. It held up one arm threateningly to the other creatures around him, and I noticed that the arm it held up was bigger than it's other one. "He who is afraid will face the great Nox!" But just as he had finished his sentence, Yugo and I had let our portals go so that they were no longer catching and throwing more of the creatures- Grambos?- in the air over and over. The Grambos fell and landed on the few who were left over on the ground, effectively knocking the rest of the group out.

"They had it coming, trying to attack us like that." I said and opened a portal. I landed on the fallen tree that we had previously stood in to spy on the Grambos at the beach. Yugo and Adamai had easily landed on the trunk of the felled tree on either side of me.

"Nox?" they questioned at the same time, and they looked at one another in surprise.

"You guy's know him?" I asked, curious of their reactions to the name.

"He attacked my village." Yugo said bitterly, a tone that I found didn't suit him. "He was looking for a dragon!" Then Yugo's eyes grew wide. "Oh, no! The dragon! It was called-"

"Grougaloragran!" Adamai said with a hint of panic in his voice. "Come on, we have to go warn him!" Yugo and I nodded, and were about to follow him, when Adamai stopped us from leaving by holding his arm out in front of us. We stopped and waited for what Adamai had to say. The white dragon pointed to the only mountain on the island.

"He lives in a cave in there..." Adamai looked at the two of us with hopeful eyes. "We can get there really fast if you two work together. If you close your eyes, you'll be able to feel the immense amount of Wakfu that Grougal has and make a portal that goes right to him."

I blinked. Then I closed my eyes, wondering how I was going to find a dragon when I've never looked for one before. That's when I remembered that Adamai had called my magic Wakfu before and mentioned how we both had it. So I reminded myself of what my own magic felt like by moving it through my body and into the palms of my hands. Once I felt certain that I knew what I was looking for, I moved my search outwards. It was as though my own Wakfu had become my senses, allowing them to extend outwards on an uncoiling rope. Immediately I noticed that the only things that I could 'sense' was other Wakfu and from the other Wakfu I could tell where it came from. It was as though every object, plant, insect or other sentient being all had their own unique wave of Wakfu- and I was sending my own out to search for others.

The first Wakfu I felt, was the magic within my two companions. I felt a small smile come to my face as I noticed that Yugo had been moving his own Wakfu through himself as I had done. To my right, Adamai's Wakfu was calm, but I could still detect the sharp spike of worry that he must be feeling at the moment. I could clearly tell the difference between both of their Wakfu because it felt a little different than my own.

I made sure to linger on what their magic felt like just long enough for me to remember who is who. Adamai's Wakfu felt like it was cautious yet immature, as though it still had a lot of room to grow. Yugo's Wakfu felt inexperienced but pure, a sensation that was somehow comforting to me while it also proved just how long ago Yugo had developed his powers.

I extended my outwards search even more and found myself brushing up against the little amount of Wakfu found in the animals, plants and insects that were in the area. The amount of Wakfu that was actually in one insect or plant I could barely feel at all, though if I looked at the individual amounts of Wakfu as a single whole, there was a surprising amount in total- it seemed as though every insect, plant or animal had Wakfu sustaining it. As I extended my magic outwards in search of more Wakfu, I felt as though there was something similar to my Wakfu much deeper in the ground. So I went towards it.

It was calm and constant, and if I let myself relax just a little I found that it was easy to be pulled along by it. I followed the sensation of magic in the ground curiously, as it twisted and turned- joining other currents of Wakfu and splitting off of them to go somewhere else. It took me farther outwards as though I was on a raft in a fast-paced river. Just as I was reaching the limit of my range, I felt myself give a soft gasp as I suddenly felt the flare of a particularly powerful Wakfu wielder. In my surprise, I opened my eyes the moment I felt it and my senses seemed to snap back to me instantly, leaving me a little dizzy.

I felt a steady hand grasp my elbow, and it prevented me from stumbling backwards, off of the tree. Adamai had a wide smile on his face. "You felt it?" I nodded and saw that Yugo still had his eye's closed in concentration. He looked much more relaxed like this and I couldn't help but wonder if he had found that odd current in the ground too. "Awesome! You got Sensing so much faster than I did! I remember it took me a long time to learn how to do that."

I frowned. "Then why'd you have us do it?" I looked back at Adamai questioningly as I said this.

"To see if you could! It would save us a lot of time if we could just make a portal directly to where Grougal is instead of running around the mountain until we find the secret entrance again." Adamai said. I sighed, but refrained from answering. I didn't actually know how long it would take to run around the island for a physical entrance compared to learning how to make a portal somewhere I have never seen before.

That was the main thing about portals- I could make them anywhere really, so long as I had seen the area I want the portals to be in and the spot that the portal will open was not out of my range. Portals were like a gateway linking two different locations in the world. I've seen the entirety of my Island and, theoretically, I could make a portal anywhere on it from where I was right now. Only, it was way out of my range and a bridge from here to anywhere on the island would take way too much energy to try and keep up for even a little amount of time. The longer the link, or bridge, the more Wakfu I would require. The smaller the link that I made, like a leap between tree branches, the less amount of energy I need to make it.

I stood up strait and the dragon let go of my arm. We turned our attention to Yugo as he opened his eyes, also looking a little dizzy. Adamai jumped over to Yugo's other side to grab his arm as I steadied him by putting my hand on his shoulder. Yugo glanced at us with glazed eyes for a moment before blinking it away.

"You felt that too?" I asked him with a sympathetic smile for his dizziness. Yugo nodded, looking at me. I was glad that we had both been able to sense where the elder dragon was.

"Awesome!" Adamai said, getting Yugo and my attention once more. "Now, you remember what all of our Wakfu felt like?" Yugo and I nodded, which made Adamai grin. "Okay good! Now try to blend them together to make a portal that will reach Grougal. I was told that for this distance you'd need two people at most, but you guys can use my Wakfu too if you need it. It has to be done at the same time, while you guys are in sync, otherwise it wont work. It's called Blending."

I looked at Yugo and saw my own determination reflected in his eyes. We shared a smile before I closed my eyes. It took a lot less longer to feel Yugo and Adamai's Wakfu this time around. I mainly focused on Yugo's Wakfu as I begun to move the magic within me to match his. Almost instantly it felt as though my senses were being put on overdrive as my Wakfu flowed from the reserved spot just below my heart and into my system as though it were being integrated into my blood stream with every beat of my heart.

Feeling Yugo shift beside me, I moved my hand down his shoulder and to his hand, where his own Wakfu felt the strongest. I moved my Wakfu to meet his in the palm of my own hand and imagined that my magic had to started 'blend' with his as Adamai described it.

I shivered when I felt his Wakfu crawl up my arm as mine went up his. I could feel him standing just beside me with his breathing in perfect rhythm to my own. I could feel how easily our Wakfu blended together, almost as though we had done this before. My heart rate escalated as I felt something brush against my consciousness, something that felt familiar yet strange all at the same time. Startled, I couldn't help but pull myself back and away from it.

Yugo shifted beside me and I calmed myself down. I wasn't sure what that was, but because I pulled away, our Wakfu wasn't blending as well as it had been a few seconds ago. I stood still and tried to measure how much Wakfu Yugo was using so that I could meet it with an equal amount. I felt my heart skip a beat when I felt that something had brush against my consciousness again, which startled me into using too much Wakfu. Yugo then brought forth more Wakfu to meet mine and we were equal once again.

Once I was certain that my Wakfu wouldn't overpower Yugo's and his wouldn't overpower mine, I felt him reach out with his Wakfu. It was in the direction of which I now knew Grougaloragran's Wakfu was. Carefully, I extended my own senses to follow his in such a way that it was almost as though we were side by side while flying towards the elder dragon. Grougaloragran's Wakfu was full of power and wisdom while it oozed ancient authority.

I could almost feel the mischievousness within the elder dragon's Wakfu which counteracted the feeling of an 'ancient soul' with a young one. It felt as though Grougaloragran was very much a young dragon at heart and his Wakfu seemed to comfort me in a different way than Yugo's does. If I thought about it, Grougaloragran's Wakfu reminded me of Adamai's in the way that they both felt rather familiar- like two old friends that I hadn't been around in a very long time and I was finally seeing them again.

Once our senses were practically right beside Grougaloragran, Yugo and I almost simultaneously sent our blended Wakfu there, and set a portal. By making my senses come back to me in a much slower way this time, rather than snap right back to me as I had last time, the sense of dizziness did not overwhelm me as it had before.

Opening my eyes, I could practically see the Wakfu flowing through my body. I glanced over at Yugo and noticed that our arms were practically squashed against one another while our fingers were laced together tightly. I briefly wondered when we had moved before my eyes met Yugo's.

We shared a triumphant smile as he lifted our intertwined hands to make a full circle in front of us, our palms facing outwards. The blended Wakfu in our hands easily opened up a portal that would send us to the portal that would open up beside Grougaloragran. The blue portal seemed to shimmer as it sliced through the air and opened into existence.

"Hey, you guys did great!" Adamai said, his happy voice suddenly jolting me out of my thoughts. I blinked, immediately feeling my Wakfu unbinding from Yugo's and returning to me. We both looked to the grinning white dragon beside us. "It took Grougal and I the better part of a month before we could Blend our Wakfu! You guys made it look so easy!"

My jaw fell slack and my eyes widened in surprise and disbelief. "You... you just made us do something on a whim again, didn't you...?"

"Yup! And I knew you guys could do it!" Adamai said, giving Yugo and I a thumb's up. Then he waved for us to follow him, his face now showing the anxiety that his Wakfu couldn't hide earlier. "Come on, let's go tell Grougal what we saw earlier!" and the white dragon jumped in the portal with no hesitation.

I stared after Adamai, shaking my head. Then I heard Yugo laugh lightly beside me. I looked to him, wondering if he agreed with his brother's odd ways. He gave me a smile.

"It's alright, it worked out." He said, apparently agreeing with Adamai. Then he tugged on my hand slightly, only now making me notice that our hands were still intertwined together, though our hold on one another was much looser than it was when our Wakfu had been blended together. "Come on," Yugo nudged his head towards our portal and I let out a sigh. Yugo was right, at least what we did worked rather easily. It didn't really matter if it was because of Adamai's whim or not. Yugo let go of my hand when I gave him a smile, and he smiled back as we both jumped through the portal.

The portal that we had jumped through closed as soon as Yugo and I had hopped through it. The exit portal opened before us a moment later and the three of us shot out of the powerful portal that was charged with two different Wakfu. Landing on our feet easily, Adamai, Yugo and I gave each other crazy grins at the charge of adrenaline that the portal had given us. It was different than my own portals and having been through one of Yugo's, I knew it was different than one of his own too. The simple portal that Yugo and I had made together seemed to be much more powerful than our individual portals and it made me wonder what else we could do by blending our magic.

I suddenly heard our names being called and barely got the time to turn and face the owner of the voices before I felt myself being engulfed in slender arms. I saw the same thing happening to Yugo just beside me, but I couldn't say anything over how stunned I suddenly felt.

"Where have you been?!" I heard Evangeline say in my ear before she pulled back slightly. A relieved smile was on her face and I felt my throat close up on me. Had I worried her? Then she looked over to Yugo, her hands not leaving my shoulders, and gave him a fond smile too.

"We were looking for you everywhere!" Amalia was saying, still hugging Yugo. He had a smile on his face, directed to the princess, that made my heart suddenly pound. I blinked, wondering why my heart was suddenly hurting, then saw Evangeline's eyes curiously go to Adamai. As Yugo introduced him, I put my hand on Evangeline's arm, getting her attention.

"Sorry." I said quietly as Dally also came over. "I didn't mean to worry you..."

Evangeline looked stunned for a moment before she gave me a warm smile. I felt a hand fall on my head and noticed that it was Dally. He had stopped beside me and looked between Yugo, Adamai and I.

"Your brother? Someone's gonna have to explain that to me..." He said, scratching the back of his head in confusion with the hand that was holding his Shushu sword.

"It's complicated." I smiled, and Yugo nodded.

"I'll tell you, but first..." Yugo said, then looked over my shoulder at something behind me. Understanding what Yugo was looking at, I felt my heart pound in excitement as I turned to finally look at the elder dragon. I felt both Evangeline's and Dally's hands leaving me as a wide smile graced my face. The dragon Grougaloragran was truly a magnificent creature.

The underground cave that we were currently in, had to encompass almost the entirety of the inside of the mountain on the center of this island. It was a huge space with more than enough room to stand up straight in. For the dragon Grougaloragran though, it seemed to barely be able to fit him. From his claws on his feet to his long horns on the top of his head, you could tell with one look that the creature that you were looking at was extremely old. Perhaps that is why, when I looked at the black and white dragon before me, I couldn't help but think that he shouldn't have to be stuck in a cave and hidden away in a mountain just so that he can be at peace.

Grougaloragran was certainly old, but I could tell with one look that if this dragon were to be threatened, he would put up a great fight. I walked closer to him, almost as though transfixed in a daze, and saw that his eyes were clouded over in a milky white. I wondered if he could still see properly and felt my heart leap out to him. Adamai said that he had gotten hurt, but he never said how he got hurt. Was his sight taken from him, or was it something else?

Grougaloragran, who made the large space that we were in look dwarfed, walked over and bowed his massive head down so that his jaw- full of long hairs on his chin that were three times the length of my body- almost touched the ground. Even with his head so low, the elder dragon was still looking down at me.

"Grougaloragran." Yugo and I said at the same time. Only when he spoke had I come to notice that Yugo had been standing beside me, also staring with awe at the massive creature Grougal really is. I felt a warm breeze brush against my skin, and realized that it was the dragon's breath only a moment later.

"Hello Yugo, Elena." Grougal said, his voice deep and soothing. It made me smile as a wash of familiarity and recognition came over me. I couldn't help but feel relieved and felt my eyes start to prick with tears from hearing him say my name along with Yugo's. "Grougaloragran is happy to see you both again. You've grown."

Yugo put his hand on the great dragon's hair, petting it gently. I glanced at him and saw that he had hidden his eyes with his hat. Maybe he was feeling just as emotional about this as I was. This wasn't the first time that someone has told me that they are happy to see me again, as Yugo and his friends have said so before, but it still made a new rush of emotions go through me.

"Adamai told me how you looked after our Dofus from the dawn of time." Yugo said, his voice heavy with emotion. "I..." his voice caught and he swallowed, then he let out a small breath. "I don't know how I can thank you."

"You don't have to, little brother." Grougaloragran said, letting out another hot breath that brushed against our skin lightly. "Grougaloragran did his duty. Grougaloragran is more curious why Elena's dragon sister is not here too. Did Tehanu not go with you, young one?"

Suddenly realizing that he was talking to me, my heart went on overdrive as I tried to figure out what to say. I shook my head no as I waited for my words to come. "I... I didn't know... I would have gone to see her first...?"

"Yes, young one." Grougaloragran said, his voice gentle. It was almost as though he could hear how fast my heart was going and had softened his tone because of it. "Your caretaker should have gotten a message to send you to the island in which your family resides, the moment that you unlocked your powers. You have always been more attune to your Wakfu than all the other Eliatropes, little sister. You should have gone to see your dragon sister long ago."

"My... caretaker...?" I said, looking away from the dragon. Did he mean the villagers? Or did he mean Moon? The air around me seemed to vibrate and it took me a moment to realize that it was because Grougaloragran was humming in thought.

"Yes, your caretaker. The one who you were left with after you had finally hatched."

I shook my head and looked away, my hands griping each other tightly behind my back. "I..." I looked down at the ground, and let my hat hide my eyes. My voice sound small and fragile to my own ears, but I finally managed to choke the words out. "There wasn't anyone there... I didn't have a caretaker."

My voice was barely audible, but the silence in the cave that followed told me that everyone had heard me perfectly fine. Somehow, finally admitting out loud that no one had really been there for me since the beginning made the reality of it all that much clearer to me. I didn't try to glance at the others, I could feel their stares burning holes through me. I had told them before that it was just Moon and I, I've only told Yugo how Moon and I met, but none of them knew that I had been an outcast since the beginning. At least, I hadn't said so to them out loud.

"I see." Grougaloragran said, his voice cutting through the silence like a hot knife. I flinched, staring hard at ground. The cold fury in the elder dragon's words were not lost on me. This was the first time that he had refereed to himself in the first person instead of the third in all the time that he had spoken to Yugo and I. I felt as though I would have been able to react to an angry dragon roaring and throwing fire better than the quiet fury that I was currently facing. Somehow, I knew that this was much much worse than a dragon throwing a tantrum. But I got the feeling that he wasn't really mad at me at all, but at someone else entirely.

"Grougaloragran!" I glanced to my right, where Adamai had appeared between Yugo and I. The younger dragon's face was grave and I could tell that he was starting to panic. "Grougaloragran, Nox was found on the island! He's coming!"

The large dragon let out a huff of hot air that was much harsher than the previous ones. He stood up strait, no longer laying down on his belly to look at us closer.

"We will deal with your upbringing later, sister Eliatrope. Come, Elena, Yugo. Our time is short. Grougaloragran has important things to tell you." He looked over towards Rule and let out an annoyed huff. The large dragon leaned over and brought his head close to the old man. "As for you, Enutrof. Grougaloragran advises you to put that gold **back**...! If you don't want to end up in his belly." and Grougaloragran sounded as though he was only giving Rule the choice because Rule knows Yugo and I. Seeing Rule so scared while getting a a strong current of hot air blown in his face from a peeved dragon... I couldn't help but smile.

Grougaloragran turned away from Rule and began to make his way through the cavern that we were currently in. Making sure to walk at his side along with everyone else, instead of behind the dragon, I began to look around the area. This large cave that we were currently in wasn't really a _cave_ at all. Besides the rubble that I assumed caused the earthquake that Yugo, Adamai and I had felt on top of the mountain, there were tall pillars and walkways that lead to dead ends or to large archways that went further into the mountain. As I looked, I saw that there seemed to be no place that was too small for a large dragon like Grougaloragran to walk.

"Was this place built by the Eliatropes?" I asked aloud and to no one in particular. No one had been speaking, so everyone had heard my question. It was Grougaloragran who replied to it, his voice soft and caring as he spoke to me.

"Yes, Elena." He said, "it has been many long summers that passed since Grougaloragran has taken up residence here. It has been even longer since the last of my Eliatrope brethren have traversed these halls on their own."

"Oh, that reminds me!" Dally suddenly called out loudly, breaking the calm that was cast on me by the elder dragon's voice. The Iop looked over at Yugo and I, then pointed at Adamai excitedly, his eyes growing large with curiosity. "How are you related to a dragon, Yugo?!"

Yugo smiled proudly. "We were born from the same Dofus, so Adamai and I are twins." he said, glancing happily over at Adamai. Adamai grinned back, then addressed Dally who was now looking at him.

"Dragon's only lay a single Dofus when they fall in love." Adamai explained, "But some time ago, they ended up laying a new type of Dofus that had a baby dragon and a baby human in it. It happened seven times exactly and because of it's unique properties, the dragons and the humans from these Dofus' were extremely special. The dragons who had layed these eggs named the humans 'Eliatropes' after their Goddess because they believed that it was because of her that these special seven Dofus' were born."

"Whoa...!" Dally said, his eyes opening wide as he looked between Yugo and Adamai. "Just how long were you in your egg Yugo? That must have happened a long time ago!"

Yugo shrugged, not really knowing the answer. By now we had reached the end of a rather long and dark hallway. Dally and the other's grew quiet as Grougaloragran stopped walking and leaned back on his haunches. Our large group had stopped walking to see what the great dragon would do. He leaned far back and tipped his head up, and waited for a few seconds while bobbing his head slightly from the left to the right. It was almost as if Grougaloragran was searching for something. When he stopped moving completely, he opened his massive jaws and took in a large breath of air.

A red light began to grow brighter from Grougaloragran's maw, and I didn't have to wait long to see why. The dragon's chest compressed only slightly and a hot fireball flew out of his mouth. I gasped along with the others as it landed perfectly on something so high up that I couldn't see what it was. It easily contained the fire that Grougaloragran had provided, and lit up the room in the fire's bright crimson light. I then watched in amazement as the fire seemed to race along the perimeter of the room, easily spreading it's light within a few seconds.

Now with the room that we were in no longer darker than a night of the new moon, I couldn't help the small gasp that escaped me. The first thing that came to my attention was the sheer size of the room. In the last room, Grougaloragran easily made it look small. In this room, Grougal could fly around with ease and still have the space to look _tiny_ within it. The overall shape of the room was circular. It was almost as though Grougaloragran had led us to the inside of a very large egg. My mind reeled as I realized that we were still within the mountain, and I had thought that the previous room was large.

The second most eye catching thing within the room was the singular large pillar that ran from the middle of the room all the way up to the ceiling. It was so thick in size, I suspected that even if Grougaloragran tried, he would never be able to wrap his body completely around the structure and be able to touch his tail with his stretched out paws. Maybe two fully grown dragons could do it, but then, I still think that they'd have to stretch quite a bit.

Once the large size of the room finally sunk in, I was able to start appreciating the decorations that were carved within the floor and wall. The ceiling was so high up, I couldn't see if there was anything on it at all. I turned in a slow circle, and noticed that there were round dark hallways that lead somewhere every few meters from one another along the entirety of the circular room. In the middle of each arched hallway, there was a singular oval hole that allowed the light of the fire the trickle into the room. Carved swirls crawled up the walls like vines that accented each archway which lead into a darkened hallway.

I looked to the floor beneath my feet and saw a beautiful mosaic that was made whenever all of this was built. It consisted of swirls, large swords, circles, triangles and around the base of the large pillar in the middle of the room- something that looked akin to the sun was placed there and each sun had a different colored jewel in it's center. Walking along with everyone else, I couldn't help but gawk at the beauty and simplicity of the place. It somehow gave me the feeling of peace and familiarity, much like Grougaloragran's voice and overall presence. It was as though I had been here before. I looked up at the large pillar and saw that there was something carved along it. Compared to the size of the large pillar, these pictures were extremely small and their size made them that much harder to determine what they were.

Suddenly feeling something pushing me forwards gently, I stumbled before I caught myself from falling and bumped into Yugo's back. I rubbed my stinging nose as Yugo looked at me questioningly over his shoulder. I was about to answer when we were _both_ pushed forwards, towards the pillar in the center of the room.

"Come forwards, little ones." Grougaloragran said, his voice gentle and deep. Yugo and I had no choice but to comply with his soft demand. We both stood before a blue jeweled sun and watched as the large elder dragon stretched up on his two hind legs and gently placed a fore paw on the carved drawings closest to the bottom of the pillar.

"This is one of the secret Eliatrope temples." He brushed his paw against the pillar, creating a small dust cloud. The carving under his paw seemed to be depicting something that looked to be taking place in the sky. "These murals were carved, then pained by your people Yugo, Elena. Here the wise prayed to the Goddess Eliatrope and studied their Wakfu."

The black dragon looked down at us to make sure that we were listening. I looked down and noticed that the blue 'jewel' that Yugo and I were standing in front of seemed to be made out of three large labs of rock that I suspected to be marble. I bent down to touch it and smiled at it's soft, smooth surface.

"What is this?" I asked the dragon, gesturing to the meaning of the rock within the sun. Yugo had bent down to feel the soft surface of the blue rock too, curiosity in his eyes.

"The Eliacube is a masterpiece of Eliatrope magics. Grougaloragran does not know all of it's secrets, but he knows that it's main power is to increase the power of the person using it, until they are as powerful as a God." Grougaloragran answered easily, his last note leaving the air ringing around me. I couldn't imagine why our people would need that type of power, which might be why I couldn't help but wonder why they had made it in the first place.

"Adamai told me that there was a hope that we could find out what happened to our people." said Yugo, running his fingers over the blue stone at our feet. I stood up slowly while looking hopefully at the elder dragon for his answer.

"The fate of our people and the world itself depend on it." Grougaloragran confirmed, and my eyes widened. The fate of the world depended on us finding the Eliatropes? "Grougaloragran's memories are just as confused as his dreams. But one of them is fixed in his mind." Grougaloragran looked back at the mural and an almost mythical tone came to his voice. "That of an Eliatrope child holding a single Dofus and the Eliacube and the words it uttered; 'Watch over this Dofus brother dragon. It may hatch one day. Our Eliatrope bother must take possession of the secrets contained in the Eliacube.'"

Yugo stood up beside me and looked questioningly at Grougaloragran. "So all I need to do is take it...? Where is this Eliacube?" The great dragon looked down at the two of us and a grave note came to his voice.

"Alas, Grougaloragran lost the Eliacube in the great cataclysm that shook the world a thousand years ago."

"...It's never simple, is it?" I said, taking in the upset look on Yugo's face. I couldn't help it when the thought 'that look doesn't suit him' resurfaced again. That thought was quickly followed by one that said 'he's better off smiling' and I frowned from the fact that I probably wouldn't be able to help Yugo very much with that. All I could do really, was try to stay by his side.

It was quiet in the room- or was it a temple now?- for a few seconds before Grougaloragran spoke up again, his voice patient but still grave.

"A human found the Eliacube and the Goddess must be with us, as that very same human is coming here to bring it back."

"Nox?!" Everyone said at once, the surprise radiating around the room.

"Grougaloragran faced him on the night that he entrusted Yugo to Alibert." the great dragon said, his calm tone not quite enough to ease the growing surprise held by everyone in the room. "The Xelor's power far exceeds that of a normal human. Grougaloragran resisted one of his attacks, but he was injured, and he is paralyzed a little more each day."

My eyes grew wide as tears suddenly sprung up and scratched at my eyes. For the first time, my eyes carefully looked over the great dragon in front of me, and almost instantly I noticed the darkening patch of scales that covered his left forearm. It easily looked to be an old wound that had closed over long ago, the scales only a slight shade darker than the ones covering the rest of his body. I blinked and held back my tears at the thought of this gentle creature in front of me- who was somehow able to bring me comfort and peace from simply _being_ here- suffering from paralysis a little more each day.

"Nox!" Yugo said beside me, gaining my attention with the sheer intensity that he used to say that simple name. He had a look of angry determination on his face as he clenched his fits in front of him. "I have a score to settle with him!"

"Hmmm, yes." Grougaloragran said, suddenly picking Yugo and I up between his claws. His paw enclosed over the two of us, making our world go dark as I felt myself being lifted upwards gently. Yugo and I bumped into one another, making my arm and chest sting slightly before we were suddenly dropped onto Grougaloragran's long snout. I rubbed my forehead lightly, as Yugo and I had whacked heads once more in our tumble, and stood up strait. Adamai was standing to my right while Yugo was getting up to my left- also rubbing his forehead. "It is time to show this Xelor what kind of Wakfu dragons are made of!"

I grinned, forgetting about my momentary pain. Grougaloragran sounded determined and knowing what this Nox had done to both Yugo and Grougaloragran, I couldn't help but want to help them out.

"As my master used to say; 'All roads lead to a fight!' Don't worry Gurenlagran!" I looked behind me abruptly with Yugo and Adamai and saw that, without me noticing, the rest of our group had climbed up onto Grougaloragran's head at some point. "We'll get that Eliathing back!" Dally was nodding his head sagely at his statement, his arms crossed across his chest defiantly. I couldn't help but smile because of it. Feeling Grougaloragran move suddenly, I bent my knees and hunkered down low so that I didn't loose my balance.

Moving much faster than I would have expected a large- and hurt- dragon to be capable of, Grougaloragran easily maneuvered his way through one of the many dark tunnels that lead out of secret temple. I was beginning to think that he could easily see in this darkness.

Maneuvering myself so that I could stand sideways with my knees bent, I couldn't help the wide smile on my face from the wind whipping at my skin and running through my hair. I saw a bright light slowly growing in the distance, and saw the large black dragon begin to unfurl his wings from his sides as he ran. I got down lower so that I was sitting with both of my legs directly underneath me. I placed the palms of my hands on Grougal's large scales, on either side of my legs. Then I waited in anticipation for the large dragon to jump off of the cliff that I was expecting to appear in a few seconds.

On either side of me, Yugo and Adamai both crouched down and put their hands on Grougaloragran's snout too. Adamai and Yugo sat exactly like me, and we all hunkered down in a way that caught as little wind as possible.

Just as we had reached the light and Grougaloragran had jumped high in the air- making everyone jolt backwards slightly- a spike of highly concentrated Wakfu suddenly caught my attention. Closing my eyes and moving myself to sit more comfortingly on my knees, I let myself sense the new spike of magic. It felt cold and unnatural and made a spike of dread flow through me.

"Grougal!" Adamai suddenly shouted, and I opened my eyes once more. The wind was being blocked mostly by my hat, which made it much easier for my eyes to tolerate.

"Yes, Adamai." Grougaloragran's deep voice sounded back. I felt every vibration that it made as his voice spoke from just underneath where we were sitting. "Grougal felt that too." He flapped his wings and shot us forwards in the air. "Nox is coming." And his voice held a seething note that hadn't been there before.

I grit my teeth and clenched my fists at my sides. Hearing about the pain that this Nox had brought to Grougaloragran was painful. Hearing that this Nox had attacked also Yugo, where ever he had lived before, while searching for Grougaloragran made the pain in me turn to anger.

What if this Nox had hurt Yugo greatly enough so that he had never gone on his quest to find the Eliatropes? I'd still be stuck on the island with Moon, living my days as they came, and most likely never knowing the existence of the great dragon that I was currently riding on. Never knowing that somewhere in this world, I had a twin sister. And never knowing that Yugo and I come from the same place, the same people.

What if this Nox had hurt Grougaloragran more than the injury to his forearm? Adamai, who seems to have lived with Grougal all of this time, would have never seen him again, and might have grown up all alone _..._ like I had. If he had managed to survive long enough to grow up without an adult dragon to look after him.

And Yugo. When he got this supposed message from his caretaker and left to find Oma Island, he would have come to see that there was no one here. Or he would have had to deal with a rather feral dragon that lived here.

In both situations, Nox had affected me indirectly. Without Grougal, I would have never felt the calming welcome that he give me- as though we were always supposed to have met. As though we were family. And without Yugo, I would have never known what it was like to feel as though my company was wanted- and maybe even _needed-_ by other human beings.

And now? Somehow Nox's minions had taken the very life source out of a tree. A terrible, dreadful feeling crawled up my spine as that very fact did not bode well for the encounter that we were about to make. Just what was this Xelor capable of? What was Nox after? What was he expecting out of this encounter?

I felt my stomach twist in a knot as I thought about anyone else getting hurt. I did not want anyone that I knew to be hurt and I cringed at the very thought of it. At the same time, I knew that an encounter with an angry dragon would not end without _someone_ getting hurt. And with the tense and heavy atmosphere of the group around me, I knew that everyone would do their best to pitch in and take down this Nox. And I would not be letting them go alone.

With Grougaloragran's massive wingspan, it didn't take him very long to find the source of the spike in Wakfu. A large circle of sorts had been made near the beach. A familiar source of blue magic had already created the largest portal that I have ever seen- taking out part of the forest that had surrounded the mountain. Grougaloragran flapped his massive wings and we sailed forwards to land on the beach. The sand kicked up a light dust cloud from the wind under Grougaloragran's wing's, then settled slowly as we watched the large portal begin to move.

The edges of the portal began to stretch upwards as something with a sharp point began to pierce through it. With barely any sound, the portal was cut and a long metal leg came through. It resembled that of a spiders leg to me. The leg reached high into the air, until the joint that could be described as the metal 'knee' came though, which was when it bent and started to strain against the ground. Five more legs pierced their way through the large portal all at once, and I could almost feel the Wakfu from the portal hissing in protest.

With all six giant legs pushing against the ground, the image of a large face of a clock was suddenly pressed against the blue seams of the portal. I saw small craters form in the ground at the base of each 'foot' of the metallic thing that was coming through, and not a few seconds later, the clock-like object forced it's way though the portal. The portal teared. Then, as soon as the large clock had fully come through, the portal disappeared with an angry _**'sizzle**_ _'_ as the Wakfu that had been released to create it quickly went to work in repairing the tear that it had been forced to make.

Grougaloragran let out a huff of black smoke from his nostrils as the clock on six legs glowed blue. With a spike of Wakfu and a long groan from the metal, two arm-like appendages- that held a close resemblance to mantis arms- appeared out of the large machine's sides. With a few _**'clicks'**_ and _**'whirs'**_ from the moving clock-machine, it then grew completely still.

"Grougaloragran." A voice suddenly sounded from inside of the large machine. It sent chills down my spine and sounded rather robotic itself. "I am so pleased to see you again!" A person then appeared with a flicker of blue light, and my senses tingled from the large wave of Wakfu that seemed to be flowing off of them. The person was floating in front of their large clock-machine with their arms folded neatly behind their back. "I apologize for the delay. Your little veil of inadvisability to protect this island wasn't bad, and without this band of pathetic creatures, I would have never found you!"

My eyes narrowed in anger as I realized who this was. Nox had blue eyes that glowed behind a metal mask, which was probably why his voice sounded as though it was almost mechanic. His chest and arms were also covered in metal, and I noticed that there was a circle of blue light glowing on his chest- which was also covered in metal. Nox moved his arms to his sides and a long sword assembled together until it was about the length of his arm. His Wakfu seemed to settle, but I knew that I would barely need the concentration to feel it again if I needed to.

"We'll see who's pathetic!" Dally suddenly called out from behind me. His voice angry from the insult. "Get ready guys!"

"I'll show him what happens when he attacks these warriors!" Yugo said beside me, and I nodded when our gazes met, telling him that I would be at his side.

"He knows not our bravery and strength!" I yelled out, and felt the others smile.

Yugo, Adamai and I crouched down on Grougaloragran's snout and I felt them both gathering their Wakfu beside me. As though we had rehearsed it, the seven of us jumped off of the great dragon's head all at once. My heart set in determination to support everyone as they fought, I made several portals in front of me so I could appear behind Nox and perhaps distract him long enough for the others to attack.

I felt my body freeze, however, before I could even fall into my first portal. I slowly looked over my shoulder, the world around me seemingly slowing down despite how much faster I wanted to move. I saw Yugo and Adamai, both just as much frozen as I was, slowly turn to look at Grougaloragran with me. My body started to slowly spin around as I tried to look at the black dragon behind me.

"You warm Grougaloragran's old heart!" The dragon said, and I felt a sudden panic start to grow in my chest. "But this battle is not yours to fight. See you soon my little brothers and sister!"

"Wait- no!" I said, my eyes growing wide as I pushed my body to try and stop him somehow. I heard both Yugo and Adamai call out in protest with me, but a sudden white light rendered my sight useless.


	9. Healing

_I sat on the only bench along the eastern external hall of the ship, Zinit. A single long glass window ran the length of the hall. It gave anyone who wanted to sit here, the view of the eastern side of our ship along with the many stars within the Krosmos that we sail upon. We have been traveling from one star to the next, hoping that we could find a planet within it's solar system that could sustain our people. The planet we had come from has already been destroyed. Our enemy made sure of it upon our departure. Only... we could not save everyone. Many parents had to be left behind as they could not come with us. Qilby said so._

 _The children of our planet had already been safely evacuated into the dimension Emrub- a place that Qilby had created with a minor bit of my help. I had no idea that the other dimension- which was made upon the whim of wondering if we could carry the door to another dimension in our pockets, I am told- would be used so soon after it's creation. The Mechasms, who had once been friends with us and lived peacefully by our sides, suddenly turned on us and demanded that we gave back what we had stolen. We didn't know what they were talking about and that fact had started the very war that we could not win._

 _It has now been over one thousand, eight hundred and twenty-five days in which the survivors of the council and our King and Queen have boarded Zinit in search of a new home to start our lives anew. So far, we had visited approximately four thousand, seven hundred star solar systems... and yet not one has had a planet which could sustain our people._

 _I let out a small sigh and looked from the vast darkness of the Krosmos and it's many stars, to my knees. My hands were on the bench, on either side of my legs. I clenched the stone that the bench was made of and let my legs swing in front of me by not allowing my toes to touch the floor. All that I could think of were the children. They were stuck in another dimension which keeps them forever the same age. And their parents? They had givein their lives to protect me and the fellow council members so that we may keep their children safe and bring them to a place that knows no conflict._

 _"Elena?"_

 _I looked up, surprised by the sudden voice, and saw that Qilby had come to stand by my side. I hadn't heard his approach, and I found myself wondering how it was that he managed to do that to me all of the time. I gave him a small smile and Qilby sat down beside me on the bench. His white clothes contrasted with his dark features, but no matter how many times I told him that he should choose another color his only response was that they had all already been taken._

 _"What has you sitting here by yourself?" Qilby asked, leaning his head to the side slightly so he could see me better from under his hat. The bench that we were on was big enough for four Eliatropes to sit all at once, but Qilby sat as close to me as he could without our bodies actually touching. Already used to him being close to me like this, due to working closely with him on different projects that required a medic's intelligence, I only moved away from him enough so that I could breathe properly. If I tried to move any farther, he'd follow me and then there really wouldn't be any more room to sit._

 _"Nothing really," I said, looking away from Qilby and back to the stars in the distance outside of the Zinit. "I've just been thinking."_

 _"It wouldn't happen to have anything to do with the fact that Mina and Chibi have an announcement to give today, would it?"_

 _I cringed, caught. Somehow Qilby was able to see right through me whenever I least wanted him to. Perhaps it's because he's a few years older than me, or maybe it's because we've known each other for so long. Either way, it was an infrequent thing that happened between us._

 _Laughing softly, Qilby smirked at me. I thought that he had looked behind me for a moment, but he blinked and leaned forwards, making the space between us even smaller. I rolled my eyes at him, practically feeling his breath on my face, before I turned to look at my lap once more. I clenched my hands in a fist in my lap._

 _"I... I don't think I can do this much longer, Qilby." I said quietly. I looked up again and stared into his brown eyes beyond his glasses. "All this running." I felt the frustration that had been building up inside of me and it was as though it was going to explode. I grit my teeth and clenched my hand tighter, then took in a deep breath to calm myself down. "It's not right. It has to stop."_

 _I let out my breath and my hand relaxed. "Those children deserve better. We need to do better. If we continue to simply jump from one planet to the next, we'll never get to let them have the lives that they are entitled to have." I swiped my hand at my eyes, tears starting to build up at the edges. "They can't just keep surviving, they need to live. And it's our job to help them." I nodded to myself, getting up off of the bench and stood in front of Qilby. "On the planet that we're going to- I'm going to do my very best to make sure that the children will get to live there this time. The Mechasms wont find us again."_

 _I turned and started to make my way to the King and Queen's room, sure that the announcement would be happening at any moment now. I didn't take more than a few steps before I realized that someone was standing in front of me, blocking my way. His azure eyes regarded me quietly for a moment before looking behind me. I blinked, surprised and happy to see him, but also wondering how it was that he had gotten there without me noticing. I gave him a smile despite the fact that he had spooked me. We saw each other almost all of the time now._

 _"Hey," I said softly, almost shyly. I felt blood rush to my face as his eyes landed on me again, looking me over. He looked concerned, as though he had something to say on the tip of his tongue, but he didn't say it. Instead, he looked at Qilby over my shoulder and gave him a strained smile._

 _"Qilby." he said, and I rolled my eyes. Why he acted this way only around Qilby, I had no clue. Qilby acted differently when in his presence too, as though they were competing for something. I didn't hear what Qilby said back, but I could see that my azure-eyed companion was not happy._

 _"Come on," I said instead, grabbing his hand with my own. I felt rather pleased when I noticed that his cheeks had reddened before he finally gave me his full attention. As though becoming a completely different person, he gave me his heart-stopping smile before I tugged him along by my side. "Queen Mina and King Chibi are waiting for us. That's why you came to get me, right?"_

 _Easily walking side by side now, our joined hands swung lazily between us. I felt him squeeze my hand slightly, which prompted me to glance at him. He had gone slightly stiff again, something was really bothering him._

 _"Yeah," he said, then stopped walking. I stopped a step after he did, our hands still tightly linked together. He looked unsure, his face now paling slightly and his eyes landed on everything that wasn't me. I turned to face him completely, feeling that this was a rather serious problem that was bothering him._

 _"What's wrong?" I asked, stepping towards him. When he didn't look at me right away, but at a spot just above my head, I said his name as I grabbed his other hand with my free one. He looked uncertain again, then finally gave up and looked me in the eyes. We stood fairly close to one another, our bodies almost touching with only the span of our hands between us._

 _"Did... did Qilby...?"_

 _I waited, tilting my head to the side slightly. He let out a breath of air before he closed the gap between us. Freezing, my eyes widened as he kissed me. It wasn't until it felt as though he was going to pull away from me that I realized what was happening. My eyes fluttered shut as I practically melted against him. My face warmed to an impossible degree as I kissed him back._

 _When we finally pulled away from one another we were breathing hard and staring dumbly at one another. Once it finally processed that ' yes, that just happened' in my mind, I couldn't help but smile idiotically._

 _"Don't..." he said, shaking his head slightly as he rested his forehead against mine lightly. I felt his hand tangled in my hair and wondered when it got there. Then I noticed that my own hands were around his neck. His azure eyes watched me, soft and filled with emotion that I've only seen on him when he was looking at me. "Only with me," he whispered hoarsely, as though the words were hard to say. Or maybe he was unsure of the answer that I would give him._

 _I nodded, never looking away from his eyes. I didn't think my smile could get any bigger, but it somehow did. "Okay."_

* * *

When I opened up my eyes I had to close them quickly from the sudden light around me. My head was throbbing in pain and I heard someone yelling in the distance. I sucked in some air sharply. When I tried to open my eyes again I only met extremely bright lights. I brought an arm up and placed it over my eyes to block wherever the light was coming from. The yelling in the distance suddenly quieted to random sounds that my mind couldn't process. I kept hearing bits of words from sentences but my mind was too groggy to try and piece them together.

I let the sounds wash over me without picking out any words within them. Instead, I focused on my breathing and the pounding in my head. When it had finally grown quiet once more, I ventured to open my eyes again. As slowly as I could, I let my eyes get used to the light once more. I hissed quietly to myself as the world finally seemed to register again.

I was in a very brown space. The walls and sky all seemed to be made of this brown material, and it wasn't making much sense to me. Then there was the _smell_. With a sudden lurch, I turned over on my stomach before regurgitating all over the brown fabric of the floor. I forced my arms and legs underneath me so that I wouldn't have to lay in it too. One it stopped, I tried to take steadying breaths as the world spun and my head pounded.

I felt a hand on my back, rubbing a spot between my shoulder blades soothingly as I tried and _failed_ to get fresh air in my lungs. I heard more noise, the sound starting to make a buzzing in my ears. I focused on the repetitive motion of the rubbing on my back and shook my head slightly to try and tell whoever was there that I couldn't understand. The motion only made my stomach churn once again, and I leaned as far away from whomever was beside me as I could before I had to retch once more. I could only thank my lucky stars that none of the stuff actually got on me. Instead, my stomach contents were almost immediately absorbed into the fabric that was the floor. I felt bad for whoever was going to wash this thing.

I leaned back once more, away from the large, damp spot on the floor. Someone was behind me as I leaned back backwards- they hadn't stopped rubbing soothing circles between my shoulder blades. The circles made me feel better when I focused on them instead of the smell or the all-too-bright room or the steadily building pressure in my head or even the buzzing in my ears. It was all too much; too much movement, too much noise, too much _smell_.

"Vials," I croaked out once I could breathe properly again. I wasn't sure if anyone could hear me, but I hope that they could. "Vials... my bag... ginger, mint... aloe..." My throat was rather raw but I was glad that I could speak somewhat normally. The rubbing on my back stopped, making me feel cold all of a sudden, and the buzzing around me increased. I put my hands on my temples, trying in vain to get the pressure there to lessen and let my eyes close with an inaudible groan.

I wondered how it was that I ended up with these symptoms. The last thing that I remembered was witnessing a very bright white light. Just before the light... I was with Grougaloragran. He was going off to fight Nox... and we were to fight by his side in order to win.

The pressure in my head finally let up and the buzzing dyed down into words. I could hear the others now, talking to one another as they tried to figure out what it was that I had said to them. I heard something about bait from Dally before I heard Eva and Amalia discuss my bag. I opened my eyes slowly again, and was pleased to see that everything had stopped spinning. Sitting to my left was Adamai and I gave him a smile.

"Hey, you alright now?" Adamai said, seeing my smile directed at him. He leaned forwards to try and get a better look at me, and tilted his head to the side curiously when I simply kept on rubbing my temples.

"Not really... Adamai." I said, shaking my head ever so slightly. I inhaled sharply when that simple motion made me feel like puking again, but I managed to keep everything down this time. "I think I've got a concision... symptoms... I need my bag." Adamai leaned back again, watching me worriedly. "When did I... hit my head...? How long... was I out?"

"About ten minutes or so..." Adamai said, frowning. "We found you knocked out cold in the snow. Your head was just beside a large rock and... well, we think that you hit it when we all fell after Grougal's spell."

"Okay." I said as I refrained from nodding. I took in the information slowly before I decided to tell him what to do- just in case. "I can't be out for more than... thirty minutes at a time. Keep me up, k?" I worked on my breathing again and counted my breaths quietly in my head. My throat still felt raw and I wasn't sure if talking was helping. As I evened out my breathing again, I looked hopefully at Adamai. "What happened to Grougaloragran?"

Adamai looked down and to his fingers. He started to play with them nervously and I immediately knew that something was wrong.

"Adamai?"

"I'm just worried." the white dragon said, still not looking at me. "He's like my dad, you know? I don't want him fighting Nox without me there to back him up."

"Grougaloragran..." Adamai looked up at me, and I gave him my best determined look. "He might be hurt, but I know he isn't weak. ...I don't know how strong Nox is, but... I'm sure Grougal is giving him one heck... of a fight." Adamai gave me a thankful smile and I returned it readily. Then I looked around and noticed for the first time how cold it was here. I looked back at Adamai in confusion. "Where are we?"

"In Rule's bag."

I turned to see both Amalia and Evangeline walking towards me. It was Evangeline who had spoken. I gave them a confused expression and Evangeline gave me a sympathetic smile.

"It's no wonder why you threw up, it smells terrible in here!" Amalia claimed as she glared at the brown fabric around us.

"I still say that it's better than being stuck outside." Evangeline said, not bothering to refute Amalia's claim on the smell. Then Amalia pulled out a cloth from Evangeline's pouch on her hip and handed it to me with a smile.

"So you can clean yourself up a bit." Amalia said, and I crossed my legs and accepted the cloth. I wiped my mouth from anything that might have been left there before wiping my hands properly, just in case.

"Thank's Amalia." I said, wincing as the words began to hurt my throat. I put the small cloth aside before I put my hands on my temples again, rubbing them gently.

"What's after thirty minutes?" Adamai asked and I closed my eyes, not even concentrating on my words as I answered.

"Head trauma is extremely dangerous." I say, almost automatically. "Pressure building up on the brain isn't good for you- memory loss, confusion, dizziness, vomiting..." I paused and opened my eyes, looking at Adamai who was staring back at me with interest. Amalia and Evangeline had similar looks on their faces. I titled my head to one side slowly as I continued to speak, my eyebrows furrowing. "If I faint and you cannot wake me up... thirty minutes is how long you would have until permanent damage can be done. After thirty minutes... if the pressure on the brain is not relieved, heart failure becomes a major possibility. Internal bleeding can become terminal if not caught and treated accordingly."

The others went pale as I gave them this information. They looked at me worriedly before sharing a look together.

"You mentioned mint, ginger and aloe, right?" Amalia said suddenly, her face still pale, but her voice held a determined edge to it.

"Yeah..?" I croaked out, but Amalia only nodded before she walked away from us.

"Why did you look... confused as you said that?" Evangeline asked, her voice tentative. She placed her hand on my arm and I looked from Evangeline to Adamai before looking down at my hands.

"I..." I blinked, then furrowed my brows in confusion again. "I don't know how I know that information. I _shouldn't_ know it."

"So it's not right?" Adamai asked, tilting his head slightly. I wanted to shake my head in answer, instead I looked up at him and stared him in the eyes.

"No, I _know_ that it's right." Then I looked to my knees again, before rubbing my temples in pain. "I just don't know how I came to know it."

"Hey! We got lucky and found her bag!"

I looked over my shoulder, where Evangeline was standing just behind me and Amalia was suddenly to Evangeline's right. Yugo was standing to Evangeline's left, holding up the bag that Moon had packed for me. Just behind Yugo, a large block of ice fell before Rule landed just beside it. I blinked as I took a good look at the ice block, surprised at what I saw and slightly unbelieving.

"Oh, and we had to go diving for Dally." Yugo said, his face growing worried as he turned to look at the ice block behind him. Having my attention diverted to the ice, I hadn't noticed how Rule was shivering and soaked, his clothes dripping and his skin had turned blue. Yugo looked rather dry though, and under his other arm he held multiple wads of dry fur.

Adamai got up from his spot beside me and walked over to the block of ice almost lazily. I tried to get up as Amalia and Evangeline left to go and see Dally, but the moment that I tried to move the world started to spin again, which made my stomach churn. Choosing to stay put, I watched with a hand placed strategically over my mouth as Adamai started to blow a steady stream of fire on the ice block.

Dally, who was frozen inside of it, was simply staring at Yugo, Amalia and Evangeline as he was slowly thawed out. I turned my body slowly to face the direction in which everyone was in and saw that Rule had started to dive through his mountain of things piled all about. If I took a quick survey of my surroundings I could easily see that most of the inside of Rule's bag was quite full of personal effects that didn't seem to hold much purpose. Vases, jewelry, wardrobes, trunks, pieces of loose paper and a book here and there piled on top of expensive looking fabrics... the only clear spot that I could see was the area in which everyone was already standing.

Fully thawed out now, Dally curled in on himself as his teeth chattered together. His skin was completely blue, but as Adamai kept up his flame the color was slowly coming back to him. I could feel the heat of Adamai's flame from where I sat, which was a good few paces behind the white dragon.

"Poor thing, I think his brain froze." Evangeline said, frowning as she watched Dally shiver. Yugo, standing across from Adamai, suddenly spotted me over the dragon's shoulder and smiled.

"Hey! Your not sick anymore!" he said as he trotted over to me. He sat down beside me, where Adamai had been, and set my bag in front of me. "Here, we got lucky and found it under some snow that had built up on the sand. Some things might be frozen or wet."

"Thank you." I said, accepting the bag and opening it.

The very first thing at the top was my grinding stone set. I smiled softly as I took out the slightly curved stone and set it aside with the wheel resting on top. Underneath layed shirts and pants with random vials of dry medicine. I tried to pick one up, but the clay shattered as I lifted it, letting the contents spill inside of the bag, onto my damp clothes and the floor.

"What's that?" Yugo asked, pointing to my grinding stone set as he helped me pick up pieces of shattered clay.

"A grinding stone." I replied, setting aside the broken pot, I let the tip of my finger dip into the powder of the plant that had been in the pot and licked it. Rosemary. I started to carefully bring out the rest of the small pots from within the bag as I continued to speak to Yugo. "When plants are dry enough, I'm able to grind them with the stone. There are some cures that only work with the plant in a powder form while there are some that only work when I've boiled them or made into a paste."

"You know a lot." Yugo said, and I stopped pulling things out of my bag. I tilted my head to the side slightly as I surveyed the wide smile that he was giving me.

"I'm sure I know only a little." I said, finally smiling back at him. "I want to know a lot more in the future."

"GET IT _OUT_ OF HERE!"

Startled, I dropped a second one of my pots and the contents spilled all over again. Yugo and I stared at the broken pot for a moment before I sighed and began to clean up the mess again. I didn't miss how he tried to hold back a laugh. I shot him a glare in response.

"YOU REALLY ARE A HEARTLESS OLD _THUG_!" Amalia yelled back at Rule as he waved his shovel around in the air.

I stared for a moment, watching as the end of Rule's golden shovel disappeared when it got to a certain height. Rule simply huffed, brought his shovel down, then walked away from the princess in answer. In response, Amalia growled before she stomped in the opposite direction of Rule and came right for me and Yugo. She sat down heavily on her knees in front of before handing me multiple pieces of ginger, peppermint and aloe plants.

"Thank you." I said again, taking the plants from her. She gave me one swift nod before she crossed her arms in front of her and looked haughtily to her left so that she no longer had to look at anyone in general. I looked away from Amalia and to the plants that she gave me. They were extremely fresh, making me think that she grew them herself as I remembered her attacking Saul with thick vines.

I put the ginger and aloe down before I pulled my grinding stone towards me. I plucked a few leaves of the peppermint plant and placed them on the stone. I looked up at Yugo, who was watching curiously, and gave him a smile.

"Having the plant fresh is actually exactly what I need right now." I said, and flashed Amalia a grateful smile when I noticed that I had gotten her attention too. She looked away when she saw that I noticed her looking. "It'd be helpful to have some water, but I'll still be able to use it right away thanks to the aloe."

Once all the peppermint leaves were on the stone, I picked up the aloe and peeled back the skin on the large waxy leaves as carefully as I could. Letting the center of the leaf fall onto my stone with the peppermint, I set the rest of the plant aside. Then I picked up my circular stone and turned it so that the curved edge was in the grove on the base grinding stone, then put the relatively straight stone through the center of my circular stone. I moved the grinding stone even closer to me as I began to lean my weight on the circular pestle, being careful to not move my head at all as I began to roll my heavy stone on top of the plants.

As I ground the ingredients together, I had to stop a multitude of times to make sure that the plants were being mixed together properly and to take a breather from my pounding skull. It was a slow process. Soon, however, I noticed that the others had gone quiet before they got closer in order to see what I was doing. Even Rule, who was clearly still angry, had gotten closer to watch what was happening.

As I ground the aloe and peppermint together, a sticky green paste was beginning to form on my stones. The tips of my fingers were quickly stained green as I stopped to move the plants into the grinding stone's path, and I found myself wanting water all the more to make the paste less sticky.

By the time that I had finally ground the two plants together to my satisfaction, my breathing was uneven again and I was rather warm. I wiped my forehead with the back of my hand and sat back, away from my mixture. My circular pestle slumped to the side of my stone as I had let go of it. I sighed, glad I was done.

"What do you do with it?" Evangeline asked, leaning forwards a bit to see the green mixture. I smiled and dipped my finger into the paste.

"It goes on the skin. It should help with reducing the pressure in my head. Peppermint will help with circulation and stimulation while aloe will help prevent internal bleeding..." I put the green mixture along the bridge of my nose, my temples, at the base of my skull and behind my ears. Finding the bump on the back on my head, I made sure to apply most of the mixture there but I winced when it stung like an angry bee.

When I was done with that, I rubbed the remaining mixture left on my fingers on the insides of my wrists before I grabbed the ginger and stared at it for a moment. When I looked up, I saw that the others were still staring at me. I gave them a small smile. "Don't worry, I'll be fine. I'll just need some bed rest and if I can find a way to peel this, I wont have to worry about the nausea."

"Leave that to me!" Dally suddenly said, snatching the ginger from my hand. He held up Rubilax so he rested on the Iop's shoulder and gave the lot of us a smirk. "Ruby and I will take care of this, wont we Ruby?"

"I am not a kitchen knife!" The Shushu replied with an irritated voice as his single eye glared at the red-head holding him. Dally simply smiled and ignored Rubilax's claim as he threw the ginger up in the air. It disappeared for a moment before it came back down, and Dally swung his sword at it quickly.

Four slices of ginger fell neatly around Dally, before the fifth piece landed in his hair and made him jump in surprise. I smiled as he handed the pieces back to me with a goofy grin on his face. Dally twirled his sword proudly with his other hand.

"There you go. There's nothing Ruby and I can't do!" Dally said proudly before making poses for the group. I cleaned off one of the ginger sticks before snapping it, making the pieces as small as possible before I put one in my mouth. I cringed slightly at the instant peppery tang on my tongue, but as I chewed it grew sweeter. Almost instantly I could feel my stomach settle from the nausea. I would eat a thousand pieces of ginger if it would stay that way.

"It doesn't taste all that great?" Adamai asked while tilting his head to the side slightly as he watched me. I looked over at him for a moment before I gave him a wide grin.

"Why don't you try it?" I said, holding out a small piece of ginger to him. He blinked, then frowned.

"Are you sure that's okay?"

"Yeah, ginger stops you from having an upset stomach. It should be fine for you to have a small bit of it too." I replied as Adamai gingerly grabbed a piece from the palm of my hand. After my reassurance, Adamai plopped the piece he picked into his mouth. It took barely a single chew before his eyes started to tear up. My grin grew impossibly wider as Adamai's discomfort grew from the taste of the ginger. Tears fell with little notice down Adamai's cheeks as he chewed before he tried to force himself to swallow. Watching this happen made me feel as though I had done something unnecessarily mean, but I couldn't help the feeling of wanting to laugh wickedly at the same time.

"It can't be that bad!" Dally suddenly said, frowning at Adamai as he tried to not spit out the piece of ginger. I didn't say anything, but I held up my hand which had more pieces of ginger in it, towards Dally. My grin was ever-present as Dally swiftly grabbed two pieces and put them in his mouth in a single motion.

His eyes bulged out before he he opened his mouth for the rest of us to see the pieces sticking to his tongue. The ginger slowly fell off of his tongue and bounced on the floor as Dally's eyes began to water. I wasn't the only one suppressing a laugh now. Dally didn't look at Adamai after that, his face going slightly pale as he eyed me instead.

"That was _foul_." He stated, his voice quiet as I cackled evilly. Evangeline was looking away from Dally, trying to hide her smile. Everyone else except for Adamai- who was still getting over his ginger piece- was openly laughing at Dally now.

"Yup, but only for the first bit. I can barely taste it now but I remember having that reaction at first too." I said, leaning forwards and letting my head rest on the palm of my hand as I put my elbow on my knee. "Ginger tastes better when it's cooked, but if you chew it long enough it starts to turn sweet on it's own."

I closed my hand full of ginger pieces and let it rest on my other leg as I sat. My eyes began to feel heavy as the others began to talk about the fur that Dally had gathered before he became an ice block.

"Can I try one?" Yugo suddenly asked from beside me. I glanced at him with my half opened eyes. Then my mind registered what Yugo had asked. I held up my palm full of ginger for him and he picked one. "Thanks." Yugo said, looking at the ginger curiously before looking at me. "You should probably get some rest. I'm sure the plant's will work better as you sleep."

"Yeah," I agreed, unable to hide the drowsiness from my voice. "I think I will." It felt as though the room was getting hot again and the only cold spots on me were where I placed my green medicinal paste.

"Here," Evangeline said, handing me a white jacket clearly made from the fur that Dally had collected. I looked up to see that Amalia was currently using her magic to weave the clumps of fur together with small pieces of vines. "This should keep you warm. As soon as the other jackets are done we're going to head outside."

I nodded to Evangeline, happy no nausea came from the motion, and accepted the jacket gratefully. I instantly felt warmer with the fur around me and it awed me that Amalia could make multiple of these jackets with seemingly no effort. I watched in amazement as Amalia made the rest of the jackets for the others in just a few minutes. Once everyone had a jacket they quickly pulled it on before hopping out of Rule's bag- quite literally. I smiled at Amalia, snuggling into my own version of the jacket, when she was the last one left.

"Thank you." I said, and Amalia gave me a true smile at that moment which seemed to brighten her entire face.

"You rest now, got it?" Even as she ordered me to do so I could tell that she was really only worried. I smiled fondly.

"Got it," I replied instead of nodding my compliance. Amalia nodded, satisfied, before she hopped out of the bag herself.

Now alone, I noticed a bed not too far from where I was seated. It seemed to call my name- beckoning me towards it really- but when I tried to get up my head began to swim. I let out a small groan of annoyance and pain, then sat still to let my vision settle. Looking at the floor of the bag I decided that it didn't look as comfy as the bed, admittedly, but I wouldn't have to go as far. Carefully, I began to move myself to lay down on my side. I paused and blinked to let my vision settle again as my body reoriented itself from sitting to laying down.

Once I was safely on my side, I lifted my hand up and picked a second piece of ginger from it. I placed the spice in my mouth and barely tasted it as I began to chew. Then I closed my eyes and did my best to ignore my pounding head.

* * *

 _"You!" I said, glaring at the man who currently sat in my emergency ward. Other Eliatropes were rushing about, coming in nervously and grabbing what they needed before rushing back out again. I had placed items out so that my Eliatropes in training could identify what they needed without rifling through my things. "Why are you back here again?! You've been coming in every two days or so and I've been told that it's much more serious this time!"_

 _When his startled azure eyes met my turquoise ones, I struggled to keep my glare. Feeling stunned, I hadn't realized that my definition of the color blue had been so wrong until that moment. Then he gave me a sheepish smile that practically melted my insides, and I told myself that my cheeks were red because of my anger towards him. Didn't he know how to take care of himself?_

 _Already, I could see the dark coloration of bruises staring to form on the right side of his jaw and on the right side of his forehead. A cut was bleeding below his bottom lip, which was probably why his smile soon vanished in favor of a grimace. He was holding his left arm close to his chest where another, and much deeper looking, cut was bleeding freely on his bicep. More bruises were starting to appear on his forearm and from his posture I could tell that he might have broken a rib. I felt a twitch start in my right eyebrow as I took in all the damage done to one body._

 _Letting out a long, tried sigh, I let myself soften as I walked closer to him. I had him sit on top of the cot that he had been leaning against. Slowly, I began assessing the damage that had been done, starting with his arm._

 _He let his arm go limp in my hands as I began examining his wrist, making sure it wasn't broken too. Then I reassessed what I should be looking at when I saw that his knuckles were bleeding and the skin on the back of his hand was starting to turn a deep purple color._

 _"What in the world of the Goddess have you been doing...?" I asked while I grabbed some bandages to wrap up his hand. I let myself focus on his Wakfu as I spoke, directing it to his hand in such a way that the bones would set themselves. Once they were back in place, I quickly began to wrap the gauze so that they could set properly as his Wakfu healed him._

 _"Oh, well I-"_

 _"Hey! So this is where they brought you!" I looked over my shoulder to see an Eliatrope wearing a forest green colored tunic and hat walking up to us. He had a wide grin on his face that didn't quite meet his eyes. Before I could stop him, the green Eliatrope had already lifted up a hand to smack it on the upper back of the azure-eyed Eliatrope who was currently in my care. He then leaned forward so that he was very close to my patient's ear. "What's so special about having a dragon sibling again...?"_

 _Leaning away from the azure-eyed Eliatrope, the green-clad Eliatrope then gave me a smile with a wink before he sauntered away to grab some gauze. "See you around, doll!" he called over his shoulder as he left._

 _I couldn't seem to glare hard enough at him as he went. It was only when I heard the azure-eyed Eliatrope hiss that I realized I had been wrapping his hand much too tight. I apologized and began to loosen it._

 _"It's fine." He said, sighing lightly and glancing to where his acquaintance had gone. "Tamsir isn't usually that mean, but I suppose something happened."_

 _I looked away from his hand to try and read my patient's face. He looked rather sad instead of angry. I was rather angry at the moment though. "He's a friend of yours?" I asked curiously as I instructed him to take off his tunic. My frown only grew when I saw the large purple and black bruises forming along his rib cadge. I had him keep his arms up as I tentatively began to press on the injured area, feeling all the more sorry every time that he winced._

 _"H- he used to be," my patient hissed as I had him take deep breaths next. "But I don't think he thinks of us as friends anymore."_

 _"You still want to be his friend?" I asked incredulously. I raised an eyebrow and gestured to his injuries as I began to call upon my Wakfu into my hands. "He didn't do this, right?"_

 _"Not really, no." he said, letting out a breath of relief as I put my palms on his ribs. I was using my own Wakfu to speed up his healing while directing his Wakfu to brace his broken ribs. By making many subsequent mini-barriers within him, I was able to make a cast that molded to his broken ribs perfectly. By using both of our Wakfu on the cast, it was almost guaranteed to last until after it was completely healed. It would break though, if he moved around too much._

 _"Tamsir wasn't there when this happened." he said, putting down his arms slowly. I spotted his cut again and walked around the cot that he was sitting on to grab the alcohol that I would need to clean it up before I applied the Wakfu Gel. Walking back over to him, I set what I was going to use beside him on the cot, then had him turn so that his arm was facing me. "Our teacher, Grougaloragran, showed up and sent me here before Tamsir had arrived."_

 _"Grougal...?" I said distractedly, "Your a warrior?" I had applied the alcohol so that it would make anything that was in the cut flow out. I noticed that my patient had suddenly gone stiff and realized that he was gritting his teeth in pain. As carefully as I could while still doing my job, I dabbed away at the alcohol over the cut and then blew softly to try and make the pain bearable. Once it was clean I quickly readied the Wakfu Gel and some bandages- the cut was too deep to leave to the Gel alone._

 _"Ugh, yeah." He grunted as I applied the Gel, "Something like that. I had been trained by Grougal separately with my brother and now I've been put in a leadership position with the other warriors. Our Profit King said that I would be a good influence."_

 _"Well," I said, pausing for a moment from cutting medical tape and gauze. "You held up well so far... as their punching bag." He gave me a small smile as I began to use the tape and gauze to hold his cut closed. He winced and looked at what I was doing._

 _"You're not doing stitches?"_

 _I shook my head, "No, there's no need." I said and began to prepare the second set of tape and gauze. "The point of stitches is to keep a deep cut like this one closed tightly as the body heals. The Wakfu Gel is currently doing its job, so it wont take long to heal at all. I call these band-aids because they're easy to make and easy to pull off afterwards." Then I paused what I was doing and gave my patient an innocent smile, "Unless you want me to stick a suture needle in your wound, multiple times over, to keep the wound closed while it heals and certainly leaving a scar behind?"_

 _"Ah..." He blinked before he gave me a nervous smile, "no, the way you have it is just fine."_

 _I smirked mischievously at him before I went back to cutting the gauze and tape for the wound. I stopped again as a thought trickled to the forefront of my mind. My eyes widened slightly as I looked over to my now curious patient. I blinked dumbly at him, disbelief being the first thing that I felt as I remembered finding my dragon sister Tehanu, with the white dragon Adamai- who had claimed to be a twin as well- just yesterday._

 _"What's your name?" I asked the azure-eyed Eliatrope who was sitting in front of me. He blinked, confused, but told me none the less._

 _"It's Yugo." he said, and I blinked again. Slowly, a smile made it's way to my face as I took in the coincidence that had happened._

 _Who knew the World of The Goddess could be so small?_


	10. The Quest

**A/N: Merry Christmas! I'm sorry I didn't get to post a chapter last month. So this month, you'll get two. And thank you all for your comments, they've really helped me keep up with the story!**  
 **Until next time :)  
**

* * *

I felt it, the very moment that Grougaloragran was no longer with us. It made me gasp as my eyes shot open, and I sat up quickly from my spot on a bed. I looked around, noticing that I was still in Rule's bag. Somehow, I had ended up on the bed even though distinctly remember falling asleep on the floor. How I got onto the bed suddenly became irrelevant when I spotted Adamai sitting beside me on a chair, his eyes wide with shock, and tears rolling down his scaley cheeks.

"Adamai..." I said, my voice coming out rather raspy. I realized that my throat was rather dry. I mustered as much saliva as I could and swallowed before I tried again. "Adamai, what are you going to do?"

The dragon seemed to register that I was talking to him then, and looked at me. But he didn't have anything that he could say. I felt tears brimming up in my own eyes from the look that Adamai was giving me. I reached over and wrapped my arms around him the best that I could. After a moment I felt him wrap his arms around me too, and I heard him sob.

"He's gone...!" Adamai said, and I could barely hear him even though he was directly beside me.

All I could do was hug him. I hoped that it helped. Suddenly hearing a peep, I let go of Adamai to see what it was. Az had been sitting on the bed, staring at us. But the reason that he suddenly made a noise was because a largr blue feather was now pulling him up in the air by his tail. When the feather finally plucked itself free from Az, the little round bird fell back on the bed and bounced in distress. I followed the blue feather's progress with my eyes and saw that it had started to float up higher until it disappeared in the ceiling.

"Let's go see." I said, tugging on Adamai's hand with a smile. "That felt like Grougaloragran's Wakfu."

Adamai nodded and helped me get up from the bed. There was much less vertigo than before and I was pleased to find that I had no trouble walking about now. Az flew up to hide in my hat as Adamai and I made our way out of the bag.

I shivered, the very first thing that I noticed being the sudden and chilly wind outside of Rules bag. There was glittery white stuff everywhere. My eyes widened as I wondered what the substance was. I took a step forwards and heard the white stuff crunch under my shoes.

"It's done!"

I looked up to see Dally and Yugo staring proudly at a set of white creations before them. They were really quite good as each one looked to be a creature of some sort. Then Dally tapped Yugo on the head affectionately.

"Go fetch Rule and the girls now, Yugo!" Dally said. Yugo turned around and saw me standing beside Adamai, but my mouth fell open as Rule suddenly came along with his shovel and knocked down the white creations that were in his way as though they were nothing. Seeing the look on my face, Yugo turned around again, and I could practically hear his gasp from where I was standing.

Then the blue feather floated in front of my eyes, and Adamai walked forwards to follow it. Dally stopped fighting Rule in his hurt anger as the feather flew by and caught his attention. Yugo and I both walked only a few steps behind Adamai as the feather quickly gained speed and flew to the very edge of the cliff that was part of the island that we were currently on. I could hear the footsteps of the others walking behind me as the feather exploded once it got to a certain height.

Yugo, Adamai and I watched in shock as a ghostly form of Grougaloragran appeared before us. I heard the others gasp they came to a stop just in front of us.

"My dear friends, listen carefully," The ghostly Grougal said, his voice echoing as he spoke to us. "Grougaloragran's time is short. Grougaloragran has failed. Nox has prevailed and the Eilacube is still in his possession. Grougaloragran's Wakfu will now return to his first dofus. Before the new moon rises, Nox will have found it." I felt Adamai bristle beside me when Grougal said that. "The Xellor must not have the Dofus. Adamai, you must watch over my egg." The young dragon nodded his head frantically in determination. "Deprived of Grougaloragran's Wakfu, Nox has become desperate for a new source. So he has turned his gaze to the Sadida Kingdom and the Tree of Life."

"Sadida...!" Amalia gasp from beside Yugo, clasping her hands together, "no!"

"The Sadida people must prepare for his attack. Nox is weak and together you can defeat him." Grougaloragran continued, as though no one had spoken. "Together you are the last line of defense. If you fail, nothing can save the world." I swallowed. No pressure. "Amalia, you have the heart of a Sadida Queen. You must always trust your instincts. Adamai, Yugo, Elena; Grougaloragran's heart will always be close with you. Together, the three of you are invincible. See you soon, my little brothers and sister."

My heart skipped a beat and my vision got blurry. The Grougaloragran as I knew him was now officially gone. I blinked, coming out of my thoughts as I heard Adamai and Yugo sniffle. I wiped at my tears before anyone could see and put on a brave face as Adamai choked on his tears. I heard the crunching of footsteps get further away. With a quick glance over my shoulder I could easily see that the others had decided to give us some space to process everything. I faced forwards again, where Grougaloragran's Wakfu ghost had now dissipated.

"He's been my only family since we were born Yugo..." Adamai said, clenching his fists. "And now," Adamai looked to Yugo on his left before he looked to me at his right. Then he looked back down, letting his tears fall undisturbed into the white powder under our feet. "And now we're the only ones left of our people."

Yugo and I were quiet as Adamai cried. I wasn't sure what I could possibly say to try and make the white dragon feel better. So the three of us watched as the sun slowly set in the distance. Eventually there were no more tears that could be shed.

"What did Grougal's message mean?" Yugo asked, breaking the comfortable silence that we were sharing. "He's not dead is he...?"

I shook my head, "I don't think he is." I said, "He said that Nox might find his Dofus soon. And that doesn't sound very reassuring."

"Dragons are immortal." Adamai said, looking between us with a sigh. "When their body dies their Wakfu goes back to the first Dofus that they layed. Then, when it's ready, the Dofus will hatch and the dragon will come back to life as a baby dragon, like me."

"That's okay then," Yugo sighed happily, "I thought I had misunderstood."

"But if Grougal did fail, how are we gonna beat Nox?" Adamai asked, sitting down on the ground. Yugo and I sat down on either side of him. I picked up some of the white powder and watched in awe as it melted to water in my hands.

"He said that we were the last line of defense." I stated, letting the water roll off the palm of my hand and onto the ground beside me. I looked up at Yugo and Adamai. "We'll find a way to beat him. We're not the only ones who are gonna fight."

We sat in silence before Yugo broke it. "Things have been tough since I left my village." Yugo was looking out at the sun set in the distance sadly. Adamai and I looked at him. "But I met these guys," Yugo nudged his head towards the group of four behind us. His expression grew determined and sure. "And we all fight together. We _are_ invincible Adamai. I'm telling you, no matter _what_ happens, we _will_ succeed, because we're together now. You, me and Elena. And we have our friends and all the Sadida's as well."

I suddenly felt something move under my hat. With an angry chirp, the small yellow ball of fur that was Az, poked his head out of the brim of my hat. Once he had said his piece, the bird went back into hiding, making me giggle.

"And don't forget about Az, you two." I laughed, directing a smile to them. Yugo nodded, smiling too as he looked form me to Adamai.

"And don't forget about Az!" He repeated.

"Yeah," Adamai said, grabbing one of my hands in his and one of Yugo's in the other. "Cause we're a family now." Adamai smiled and squeezed our hands gently. I beamed, happy to hear that he wanted to be family too. I felt my stomach flutter though, as I realized I still had no idea how to act like a family.

Once the sun had finally set, the land seemed to get much colder. I shivered before I heard the noise of firewood crackling. I turned my head and saw that Dally, Rule, Amalia and Evangeline were all surrounding a warm fire. I stood up and wiped off my pants as best as I could before looking to Yugo and Adamai.

"You guys wanna warm up?" I asked, smiling at them happily. They didn't even need to look at one another as they stood in union, ready to go and join the warmth of the fire. As soon as the others saw us walking towards them, they smiled and made room. I sat down beside Amalia and hummed happily at the warmth from the fire. Yugo sat beside me and Adamai sat between Yugo and Rule. The heat from the fire had melted a circle around it. Now a ring of damp earth showed everyone how far the heat of the fire reached.

"So what are we going to do?" Rule asked, looking between Yugo and I. I looked down at the damp ground, unsure of what to say. First was the matter of Nox heading towards the Sadida Kingdom. At the same time, Nox was also searching for Grougaloragran's Dofus. Both things needed to be taken care of if we wanted to win against the Xellor.

"We have two major problems." I said, gaining everyone's attention. I held out one hand, "First, we have warning that Nox plans to go to the Sadida Kingdom and do something with a tree."

"It's the Tree of Life," Amalia said, somehow able to show sadness and anger at the same time. "The Tree of Life literally gives life to all of our forests. Without it, we Sadida would be killed."

I nodded. "And that's a very big problem." Then I held out my other hand palm up. "But then Nox is also searching for Groualoragram's Dofus. Grougal said that it was like another power source in his message- we can't allow Nox to get it. Not to mention, that's where a little dragon and Eliatrope will be." I shook my head determinedly, "I can't let them get hurt."

"Where _is_ the Dofus?" Dally asked, making everyone look at him. He blinked. "What? We can't be in two places at once. We could probably pick it up on the way to the Sadida."

"Wow Dally," Evangeline said, her eyes a little wide. "Sometimes you make it hard to decide if your smart or not."

"H- hey!" he said, his cheeks growing red as he looked at Evangeline. He had stood up and begun to point Ruby at Rule as he spoke to her. "I can handle being smart! If Rule hadn't destroyed my snow-sculptures, you would and Amalia would have been blown away by my and Yugo's teamwork and art!"

"What's a snow-sculpture?" I asked, looking between Dally and the amused Evangeline.

"You know-" Dally said, quickly going out of the fire's range and doing something with the white powder. He came back to fire's light show a very small figure in his hands made up of three balls stacked on top of one another. The ball on the bottom being the largest and the one on the top being the smallest. "A snow-sculpture."

I tilted my head to side in confusion. "Stacking three balls on top of one another is a snow-sculpture?"

Dally looked stricken. "It's a snowman! How do you not know of a snowman!?" He brought the 'snowman' closer to the fire so that I could see it.

"Elena," I looked over at Evangeline as she spoke my name, "Haven't you seen snow before?"

"Snow?" I asked, tilting my head. "What's that?"

Dally made an odd strangled noise as his 'snowman' melted in his hands from the heat of the fire. Amalia, Rule and Evangeline were staring at me as though I had grown another head.

"It's the white powdery stuff all around us," I looked over at Yugo on my other side, and he gave me a bright smile. "You make stuff with it when it gets sticky."

"But," I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion, "it's wet."

"Ermm, yeah," Yugo scratched his cheek as he thought of what to say. "But just before it melts, or when it just fell from the sky, it sticks together a lot. When it does that you can make stuff with it, like snowballs."

I nodded my head understanding a little. Yugo smiled triumphantly, clearly glad that he could help.

"You've really never seen snow before?" Rule suddenly asked, making me look at him. "It usually happens in the winter."

I shook my head. "My Island never had snow before. The ground would freeze and the plants wouldn't flower anymore in the winter, but there wasn't any snow." Everyone simply stared at me with disbelief. After a while, I decided to change the subject. "Where is the Sadida Kingdom from here, anyways? It felt like Grougal's Wakfu went off in that direction." I pointed in the direction that the Wakfu had disappeared to.

"The Sadida are to the East of here." Amalia said, frowning. She pointed to another direction.

"And the nearest warp gate is to the North." Rule said, sounding rather gloomy about it. Everyone seemed to only get gloomier by this news. I frowned as I Yugo begin to curl himself up. The others looked like they didn't want anyone to say what it was that they needed to do now. It was Adamai who was brave enough to speak.

"We have to split up." He said. Everyone flinched. I felt my heart beating faster as I realized what was happening. I needed to go and retrieve Grougaloragran's Dofus, it was the mission that he gave to Yugo, Adamai and I. At the same time, I wanted to help Amalia out with protecting her kingdom. Only... Dally was right. We _can't_ be in two places at once. I'd have to choose witch place to go to. In both directions Nox was waiting, wanting to attack both the Dofus and the Tree of Life.

"Do you know what you're asking us to do, Adamai?" Amalia suddenly said, sounding rather hurt. She looked from Adamai to Yugo and I, worry clear as day on her face.

"There's no other way." Adamai stated, saying what we all already knew. "Yugo and Elena need to master their Wakfu and I'm the only one who can teach them. Even as we speak, Grougaloragran's Wakfu is making it's way to it's Dofus. Yugo, Elena and I are linked to the old dragon, making it our duty to retrieve that sacred egg." Adamai took a breath then looked each person in the eyes as he continued, "As for you, the Sadida people must be warned of the threat that's coming their way. There _is_ no other way; we must go our separate ways for now my friends."

"But, will we see each other again?" Amalia asked, looking between Adamai, Yugo and I for answers. I saw both Evangeline and Dally glance at one another before they both looked to me pleadingly. I wasn't sure what they were trying to ask, but I didn't want to separate from the group either- I was just starting to get to know them all.

"I..." Rule had everyone look towards him as he spoke. Suddenly he stood up, his fist high in the air as he looked stubbornly at Yugo. "I promised Alibert that I'd look after you Yugo. And I'm not the kind of old _codger_ that goes back on his word!" Rule planted his foot and put his fists on this hips, looking determinedly at Yugo, Adamai and I. I couldn't help the small smile on my face from forming at his words. He was loyal to his friends.

Yugo looked up from his knees at his name being called. I saw him clench his fists before he stood determinedly. "I will never abandon my friends!" He said decisively. He looked beyond the fire in front of him and into the night sky. "As soon as we find Grougal's Dofus, we'll join you to fight Nox!" Then he looked to Amalia with a smile, "I'll finally be able to see your Kingdom Amalia." Amalia seemed to calm down at Yugo's words. Then he looked to Rule, "And don't worry about me Rule, your the one that's heading in the same direction as Nox- _I'm_ the one who be worrying."

"That's true." Rule said, sitting back down.

"And I've got a great idea!" Yugo suddenly said, turning around so that his back was to the fire. I could just barely make out his face from under the shadow of his hat. "We'll do what they did in the cool stories that my dad used to read me before bed. We'll form a brotherhood. With a secret friendship pact and everything!"

"Yeah! What a great idea!" Dally exclaimed, gaining our attention from Yugo. "Why don't we call it the brotherhood of Dally!"

I blinked as Dally smiled proudly, as though his idea was the very best in the entire world. Evangeline adopted a blank stare, looking as though she could not believe her ears. Yugo turned around abruptly, looking stunned.

"What?" Dally asked, looking at all of our expressions. "It's easy to remember." Then he smiled, looking at me in triumph, "And Elena approves too!"

Everyone turned to me and I had no idea what to say. So I simply shook my head with my eyes growing wide. Then an idea came to me.

"How about The Order of Wakfu?" The others seemed to contemplate this before Dally shook his head.

"Nah, that's just making me hungry." he said dismissively.

"And why not the Fellowship of the Ring?" Evangeline asked, looking around at us.

"That's too obvious!" Rule stated, raising an eyebrow. "It's bound to have been used already!"

"It's the way we're all in a circle," Evangeline explained shyly, "it made me think of a ring..."

"Elena and I like the Brotherhood of Dally." Dally said, crossing his arms smartly, "It's the simplest!"

"It's the simplest 'cos your the simplest." Rule stated, "and don't drag others in on your decisions."

"How about the Flower Company?" Amalia said, and the thought of us going around selling flowers to people filtered through my mind. I have a feeling that that's not what Amalia meant though.

"That's-" Evangeline started.

"Ridiculous." Rule cut in at the same time that Dally said, "It stinks."

"-horrible." Evangeline finished, and Amalia pouted. Feeling bad, I nudged Amalia's arm and gave her an encouraging smile. She gave me a smile smile after a moment, and I could only hope that I had helped her feel just a little better.

"Why not Ruby and the Idiots?" Rubilax cut in, laughing at his chosen name.

"Ridiculous!" Dally stated, upset that his sword would call us such names. Admittedly, I didn't much like the name Ruby came up with either.

"It will be..." I heard Adamai start to say, but Az had decided to come out from under my hat and chirp about his own idea before landing on the young dragon's head. No one else was paying Adamai very much attention. "IT WILL BE...!" He suddenly yelled, gaining everyone's attention with a smile. Adamai held out his hands, palm up as he looked at everyone. "The Brotherhood of the Tofu!"

We all blinked in surprise, looking at him. Then Yugo cheered, agreeing almost instantly. No one else objected, glad that Yugo was satisfied, but also not having any other ideas. I personally liked my idea the most, but having a friendship named after Az wasn't so bad either. Seeing no one objecting, Adamai smiled before he gathered some Wakfu to the palm of his hand. With a single clawed finger, Adamai had words made of Wakfu appear out of thin air.

In awe, I watched as the words curled up to Az, lifting him up in the air before being absorbed into the tiny creature. Az looked as though he was shocked before seven blue feathers sprouted from his tail. The little bird chirped in worry before it seemed to realize what had happened. Az flapped his wings tiredly before he landed on top of Adamai's head again.

Rule was the first one to pick out a feather. Az looked scared at first, but when the feather was gone, there was no sign of complaint or pain. Then Dally, Amalia and Evangeline picked out their feathers. I got up and picked mine as Yugo picked his. When Adamai picked the last feather, I took a moment to look at mine. It was a brilliant blue that reminded me of something familiar. I tried to remember what it was but quickly got distracted as Adamai began to speak again.

"These feather will warn us the moment that Nox sets foot on Sadida soil." The young dragon said, gaining my attention. Everyone else seemed to be watching their magical feathers closely. I smiled and looked at my group of friends.

"They'll remind me that we're always together." I said, gaining everyone's attention. I put the hand that I was using to hold the feather over my heart and smiled at the group warmly. "Even when we're not side by side, we're still connected by our hearts."

"Friends for life!" Yugo exclaimed, holding his feather high in the air. I grinned, happy to see that he was feeling better now, and lifted my own feather high in the air with him. The others copied.

"Friends for life!" We all repeated.

"Yeah!" Dally added on with a grin, "One for all, all fall down!"

"I'm gonna miss you and your Iop philosophy, Dally." Yugo giggled, causing the rest of us to laugh as we brought down our arms.

* * *

 _The house was crumbling around me. Tremors ran through the floors, shaking the walls and shattering windows. The door to my house opened with a shattering bang as his azure eyes searched frantically for something. As soon as my turquoise eyes met his, he instantly held out his hand to me. I took it without hesitation. He pulled me along as we went, his blue clothes blocking me from seeing ahead of us._

 _There was screaming all around. A dreaded wailing echoed through the air, pricing my ear drums like knives. It made my heart clench in pain as we ran by; my fellow Eliatropes were in pain. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't block out their sounds and I knew that they would haunt me for years to come. A portal opened up in front of us, and he dragged me along behind him._

 _I wasn't sure where we ended up, but it had suddenly become unbearably quiet. My body was shaking and I could barely take in what he was trying to tell me. His arms wrapped around me, and it was only then that I could hear him. He rubbed a single hand on my back, trying to soothe me. I felt him shaking almost as badly as I was._

 _"It's okay." He said, and I could hear the weaver in his voice. He was scared too. "It's all gonna be okay."_

 _I slowly brought my arms up, warping them around his muscular form. I held on as though my life depended on it. And, it probably did._

* * *

I woke up with a gasp. Sitting up as though I came back from the dead, I barely noticed how badly I was shaking. All I could hear was an echoing cry of pain in my head. A chill of fear had somehow crept up on me as I slept, prompting me to get up and do something about it.

I looked around, my heart beating painfully in my chest, and saw that everyone else was asleep. Quietly getting up, I walked away from the fire that had now died down to warm embers. I clasped my hands together, trying to get myself to _stop shaking_ as tears begun to make their way to my eyes. The snow crunched under each footfall I made, but I could barely feel the wind that was grabbing at my clothes.

Flashes. Flashes of blood, of pain, of people crying out for help. They knocked around inside of my brain and they didn't seem to want to fade away.

"Elena?"

I stopped walking, startled, and quickly turned my head to see. It was Evangeline and Dally. They were sharing a blanket and sitting down by the edge of the island. Evangeline had a frown on her face as her eyebrows furrowed in worry. Dally looked confused to see me. I walked towards them but didn't sit down.

"W- what are you guys doing up?" I asked. My voice shook. I looked around warily, as though something would jump out at me from the shadows at any moment. Shuffling from one foot to the other, I waited for their reply.

"Just sitting." Evangeline said softly, as though she would frighten me if she spoke any louder.

"Are you okay?" Dally asked, sitting up a little straighter. I went to nod my head, but the tears had finally spilled over. I was not okay. I felt as though I needed to do something, anything to help out the people that I could hear in my head, but I had a feeling that it was already too late. _Centuries_ too late.

Suddenly, I felt a pair of arms wrap around me and hold me tight. I stood still, frozen. What was I to do at the sudden affection?

Evangeline hugged me tight. I could feel her hand petting my head through my hat, slowly and delicately. She had tucked my head under her chin.

"W- what are you doing?" I whispered, unable to speak any louder than that.

"It's okay to cry." I heard Evangeline say against my hat, making my heart pound painfully in my chest. "It's okay to be sad. We're here now, and you're going to be okay."

The tears came out in earnest then. I lifted my arms up and wrapped them as tightly as I could around Evangeline. I had fists full of her shirt in my hands. My cries were muffled and my body shook . I could hear them, fainter now, calling out for help. They cried as loved ones died in their arms. Deadly stars had rained down around them. And I couldn't do anything. Nothing except cry for them.

I'm not sure when it happened, but I eventually found myself sitting down. I was clinging to Evangeline like my life depended on it. I was curled up in her lap like a frightened child, my arms around her neck as I cried into her shoulder. Dally was sitting to our right, kindly keeping the blanket around all three of us. When my crying had finally calmed, I felt just a little better. I kept my eyes closed, not daring to open them, and simply focused on the warmth around me.

"Better now?" Evangeline asked, taking me out of the momentary peace that I had created for myself. She was petting my back now, as if I was a cat. I nodded.

"What was wrong?" I heard Dally ask, making me stiffen slightly. Evangeline clicked her tongue and scuffed him on the back of his head. "Hey!" He said, grabbing his newest injury, "what was that for?!"

Ignoring him, Evangeline addressed me instead. I had opened my eyes now, and begun to sit up straighter. "You don't have to answer him. If you don't want to tell that's fine. We're here to listen though, if you want to share."

I was quiet as I leaned most of my weight on Evangeline. My head was rested on her left shoulder tiredly. My eyes were trained at Rubilax's hilt on Dally's right hip. I wasn't sure if I should tell them. Would they be troubled by it too? I swallowed, finally glancing at them. They were curious.

"I don't remember much..." I started, getting their attention. My voice was barely audible so they both had to lean in to hear me properly. "T- there was fire." I closed my eyes and the flashes came to my mind again. "The stars fell from the sky. Everything was being destroyed... The ground was shaking." My body began to shake again as the cries of pain came back. They echoed loudly in my mind, like a scar that could never be healed. I tried to swallow back a whimper of pain at the sound. "People... My p- people crying. Calling out... calling for the o- ones who got hit." My voice cracked as my tears came back. I felt arms wrap around me again, trying to reassure me. "They were dying. D- dying and I...!" I choked. My heart was beating erratically again, and I felt rather hot.

"He saved me..." I whispered, "saved me from that fate. Told me... t- told me that everything was gonna be fine." I could barely speak, my words were being swallowed by the painful feeling in my chest. I shook my head. I didn't want to remember. I _needed_ to stop remembering.

A painful feeling rose in my head, making me whimper. I put a hand to my forehead in attempt to make it stop. Tears fell down my face as though my eyes had become waterfalls. I slumped forwards in pain, feeling as though my head were about to split in two.

I used my hands to push against my head, as though that would keep it together. There was a panicked sentence before I felt hands wrap around my wrists. The arms wrapped around my body only held me tighter. Then something touched the back of my head, where I had hit the rock earlier. The back of my eyelids seemed to light up from the sudden pain. I gasped, going still.

Then, just like that, the pain was gone.

I blinked, opening my eyes in confusion. Looking around me, I saw that I was sitting in Evangeline's lap. My hands were up by my head, and I saw that Dally had his hands wrapped around my wrist's firmly.

I brought my arms down in confusion, watching Dally's facial expression as he slowly let me go. My heart was pounding in my chest, like a bird that wanted to be set free. My face felt cold, so I wiped at my eyes, and saw that they were wet. Had I been crying?

Both Dally and Evangeline were looking at me worriedly. They looked almost... scared.

"A- are you okay...?" Dally asked after a moment of silence, not sounding much like Dally at all. I titled my head to the side and peered curiously at him from under my hat.

"Why wouldn't I be?" was my answer.


	11. The Journey

After my response, Dally and Evangeline shared a look. Their eyes held so much uncertainty and fear... I didn't know what to make of it. So I asked them what was wrong. They must have seen something on my face that I didn't know I was showing because they hesitated. I could see the turmoil in their eyes, as they shared another look. They seemed to have a silent debate together as they stared at one another.

Then Dally turned to me, and I felt rather than knew that he was going to answer my question. Before he could, Evangeline cut him off. She had tilted her head forwards so that her blonde locks fell over her eyes. From my spot on her lap, I could barely see their green hues.

"It's getting late." She had said, her tone decisive and leaving no room for argument. I felt her arms wrap just a little tighter around my waist before she quickly let go. I looked over to Dally, feeling a prickling in my chest, and he looked sad as he avoided my searching gaze. My head felt a little light and numbness slowly crawled over me. The the palms of my hands prickled. I slid off of Evangeline's lap and they both followed as I stood up.

I had blinked and suddenly Evangeline was holding my hand in hers and tugging me along behind her, as though I were a small child. A thick white blanket that I hadn't noticed before was held in Dally's arms. Dally simply bundled the blanket in his arms, still not looking at me and followed along behind Evangeline. He was being unusually quiet and calm, strengthening my feeling that something had been wrong.

When we got closer to the camp, I saw that the fire had died. There were only the simmering embers left now and they gave off a soft but warm red glow.

Evangeline had stopped walking when she arrived at Amalia's side. She looked over at me as Dally layed out his blanket near Amalia's feet. Evangeline's eyes were searching mine, but I didn't know what she was looking for. Without speaking, Evangeline simply looked away after a moment and took in a deep breath. Without letting go of my hand, Evangeline layed down on the ground beside Amalia.

Not having much of a choice, I layed down at the same time as her. Our heads were a few inches apart from one another and our feet were in different directions. I could feel her blonde's locks pushing at the fabric of my hat. Then I could feel the warmth of Yugo's back against my own. With the sound of a small clunk, I looked over to the fire pit. Dally had added a new dry log and the start of a new flame was beginning to lick hungrily at it.

I watched as Dally walked off, to his white blanket most likely, before I heard him lay down. My eyes shot to Evangeline questionably one last time before she gave me a small smile and closed her eyes. I looked away from her face and to our joined hands. My hands were warm, but against the heat from Evangeline's hands they might as well have been frozen. Even though her hand wasn't very big, Evangeline's fingers wrapped around my hand easily, engulfing it with her own.

Taking in a long breath, I let it out slowly and closed my eyes. My body slowly relaxed and my mind seemed to hone in on the warmth at my back. The sound of Evangeline's even breaths helped to calm my mind. I listened to everyone's breathing and the sound was somehow peaceful and lulling.

The light from the fire danced on the other side of my eyelids, warming my face and body comfortably. Just as I felt my mind relax enough to fall asleep again, a sudden unknown fear struck through my heart. It made goosebumps appear on my skin and had the hair on the back of my neck prickle. As though a sudden cold wind had brushed against the back of my neck, my body instantly tensed.

My eyes flew open and I stared widely at the glowing fire. My breathing had gone shallow and rough instead of deep and calm. A dreadful feeling washed over me. It was as though I didn't want to remember something. This feeling seemed to overwhelm me as I stared at that fire.

Then I had felt Evangeline move. Her warm hand was still holding mine, making both of our hands stay over our heads. It reminded me that I was not alone. Slowly, I felt my heart calm enough to be able to hear over it's irregular beat. It's rhythm steadied and I was able to listen to everyone breathing again.

For the rest of the night, I could not fall back asleep. Every time that I closed my eyes an indescribable fear would make my heart beat faster in my chest. It would keep my mind alerted to any noise around me. I could remember only one other night that I had been kept awake like this- the first night that Moon had decided to take me in.

As the night drew on, my mind started to wake out of out the quiet that it had gone into. I began to wonder how I ended up beside Evangeline and Dally. No matter how hard I thought, I couldn't recall how it was that I had ended up sitting with them.

The night wore on.

It was a relief when the sun had decided to grace the world with it's presence. I turned on my back and watched as the stars were replaced by the pink morning light. It was beautiful. The sight easily made my heart calm, as though something had finally passed. I wondered briefly what would happen if I tried to sleep again, but dismissed it as I heard someone begin to stir. I turned to my side and blinked as I watched Yugo sleepily rub his eyes.

He didn't seem to notice me as I stared, wondering when during the night that we had rolled so close to one another. I felt something warm bubble up in my chest, a content sort of feeling that allowed me to forget about the night.

When he finally noticed that I was awake as well, his azure eyes seemed to light up. A bright, sleepy smile graced his face as he seemed to be wholly unaffected by our close proximity. I could count each freckle that went across the bridge of his nose if I wanted. There were laugh lines at the edges of Yugo's eyes and I could see just how thick his eyelashes were. Some of Yugo's light brown hair had fallen over his cheek and was resting just at the edge of his lips.

"Morning," Yugo whispered, making me blink again. I looked back up to his eyes and saw that he looked rather happy, making me wonder if he had felt the warm feeling too. The sight of his smile sent a sense of calm through me, strengthening that feeling in my chest and making it a little bit harder to breathe. I couldn't help but give him a small smile in return.

"Morning." I whispered back, watching as his happiness only seemed to grow. After another moment of staring, Yugo turned so that he was on his back before he yawned and stretched in a way that reminded me of a bow meow. Taking my eyes off of Yugo, I looked up at my hand by my forehead. Evangeline was still asleep but she had not once let go of my hand throughout the entire night. I sat up slowly and carefully took my hand from Evangeline's grasp. Then I used my had to rub the sleep from my eyes.

"Sleep well?" Yugo asked, sitting up beside me. He had brought up one of his hands to scratch at an eyebrow as his azure eyes watched me. Instantly my mind went back to my night and how I was still unsure of how I came to rest on Evangeline's lap. I frowned.

"No," I said sadly, "I don't think I did." I could see Yugo's eyebrows furrow from the corner of my eye. He opened his mouth, about to respond, but stopped when someone else started to wake up. We both turned and Amalia sat up straight, stretching her long tanned arms above her head as she did so.

"I just had the oddest of dreams..." she yawned, then blinked as she noticed us staring. Amalia's hands fell down into her lap and she gave us a sheepish smile.

"You'd never guess what I was dreaming about." Rule said, appearing out of his bag. He held two loafs of bread in his arms as he sat in front of fire. Yugo, Amalia and I crawled closer to him as he began to rip the bread with his hands.

"I bet it had kamas in it." Yugo stated, making Rule look at him with a frown. Amalia and I laughed.

"Not everything about me is related to kamas, my dear Eliatrope." Rule said as he took a bite out of his food, then he looked away, as though that would keep us from hearing him. "But yes, kamas were there..." and that answer only had Amalia, Yugo and I laughing harder.

"What'cha laughing about?" Adamai said sleepily, crawling over to us. He sat down on my left side and happily accepted the food from Rule.

"Just Rule." Yugo stated, making us snicker as Rule pouted. Then Rule looked up and a gleam was in his eyes as he looked at Yugo.

"And how about you Yugo?" Rule asked as the corner of his mouth twitched up, "You weren't dreaming about a _girl_ were you...?"

Yugo choked before he fell into a coughing fit. Instantly, I rubbed his back with my Wakfu humming at the palms of my hands. I wasn't sure what I was doing, but Yugo calmed and seemed to breathe easier as I did so. His ears and neck were a bright pink and if I leaned forwards a little, I would probably be able to see the color across his cheeks.

"Are you okay brother?" Adamai asked as Yugo calmed. Yugo didn't look up from his lap as he nodded his head and stuffed more bread in his mouth.

"I couldn't help but hear that Yugo was dreaming about a _girl!"_ Dally said as he and Evangeline sat down beside Amalia. I watched as Yugo's eyes went wide before he looked at Dally and shook his head profusely. "That's alright Yugo, there's always a beautiful woman who appears in _my_ dreams frequently!" Dally continued, looking to Evangeline with a dopey smile while wiggling his red eyebrows. I laughed as Evangeline quickly looked away from Dally, and accepted her piece of bread from Rule.

It didn't take long after that for the smiles to get wiped off of everyone's faces as the last piece of bread was eaten. We all sat in a circle by the dying fire, and stared at the ground. It didn't take very long until Adamai was the first one to stand. Silently, everyone followed his example. Dally picked up the extra logs of wood along with his blanket, before he stuffed it into Rule's bag. A strong wind came by and blew out the last bit of flame from the fire.

Evangeline walked over to me and wrapped her arms around me. I didn't move as Evangeline squeezed me tightly. Not really knowing what to do, I slowly brought my arms up, and gently wrapped them around her torso. My actions only seemed to make her hold me tighter.

"You be careful, okay?" Evangeline whispered. She spoke directly beside my ear, as though to make sure that I heard her. I gave a small nod of my head and a warmth seemed to spread through me from her show of affection. When Evangeline finally let me go, she held me at arms length. A soft smile was on her face and I couldn't understand the emotion she was looking at me with.

Then I felt a hand on my hat, pushing it forwards so that it covered my eyes. I brought my hands up to stop my hat from moving and looked up to see who moved it. Dally had a wide smile on his face as he looked down at me. My pout melted away into a smile as Dally ruffled my hair through my hat.

"You'll be alright, Ella." Dally said, making me look at him curiously. Had he just given me a nick name? Dally must have read my look wrong though because he suddenly looked serious as he held one arm up in a fist and put a hand on his bicep. "If Yugo doesn't look after you, he'll have me to deal with! Isn't that right Yugo?"

I looked over my shoulder and saw Yugo glance over at us in confusion. Rule was standing just in front of Yugo with Scribble in his hands and was putting the map under his cloak. Dally looked back down to me with a smile.

"I'm gonna watch over Amalia and Evangeline," Dally said while putting his one arm around Evangeline's waist. Then Dally took out Rubilax and pointed the tip of the blade at Yugo. Dally had made his voice louder so that Yugo could hear what he was saying too. "So you have to watch over Elena closely!"

Evangeline lifted up her left hand and grabbed a single finger from Dally's right arm. Twisting both his finger and her hand, Dally yelped in pain and quickly removed his arm from around her. I giggled at them as Yugo walked to my left side. Amalia, Rule, Dally and Evangeline looked at the two of us. We all shared small, sad smiles before they turned and left. It wasn't until they started walking away that I realized how much I had grown attached to them. When I glanced at Yugo and saw his small frown, I could only imagine how he could be feeling... he's known them a lot longer than I had.

So without really thinking, I took Yugo's hand in mine before I ran forwards a bit. Slipping my other hand under my hat, I grabbed my blue feather and held it up high. "Till we meet again in the Sadida Kingdom!" I yelled out, making the others turn and face us. I could barely see their faces with snow that began to fall, but I could easily see the glow of the blue feathers that each person got out and held high for us to see.

"Sadida Kingdom!" their voices yelled back, just barely carrying over to Yugo and I. I smiled widely and slowly brought my feather down as they all turned to leave again. Just as I was putting my feather away, I felt Yugo's grip on my hand tighten. I looked over at him curiously, but he was already turning to follow Adamai. I quickly put my blue feather away and followed.

"Over here, you two!" Adamai called, waving us over. I watched as Adamai turned away from us and looked up at the top of a glacier. He flapped his blue and white wings before he jumped up high in the air. Then, with barely any snow flying up from the motion, Adamai landed on the top of the glacier. He looked back at us with a smile on his face before he continued to half jump, half fly from one glacier top to the other.

"Hey!" I called out, seeing how he was purposely going faster. I looked over at Yugo, "he really thinks he can beat us?"

Yugo smiled and made a portal. "We'll show him...!" he said determinedly, letting go of my hand. "Let's go, Elena!"

"You got it!" I called back with a smirk. Easily calling upon my portals and catching up with the two brothers, I let my mind wander. Why was it that when Yugo called my name, my heart would skip a beat?

Yugo and I carried along, following Adamai closely and sharing random stories. Just as Adamai was talking about how he had to lick a bunch of rocks once, the air changed and got warmer. Looking ahead at our direction of travel, I saw that the ice was breaking off into clear blue water. At the sight of the ocean, the three of us went quiet and landed at the edge of a glacier, closest to the water.

The sun had risen a little higher in the air, telling me that it was a few hours more before noon. I had a feeling that we wouldn't have been able to arrive at the ocean this quickly if the others had been traveling along with us. With the portals and Adamai's jump-flying ability, the three of us could travel rather quickly.

"The two of you wont be able to cross with your portals alone." Adamai said, making Yugo and I look at him. Adamai was standing between us, looking at the ocean that we needed to cross. Then Adamai took a glance at the both of us before he turned into a four-legged creature that I'd never seen before. His wings had grown transparent and round, like an insects. He now had two toes on each foot and he kept his dragon horns and coloring. His body was large and round and his tail had disappeared. Over all, Adamai's new form reminded me of a very large version of a bug. "One of you can ride on me, then after a little bit, we'll switch."

I grinned. "That's a great idea, Adamai!" I said, and looked over at Yugo. He looked as though he would explode from excitement as he looked at Adamai, then to me. Not wanting to make him sad, I made a portal appear in front of me. "Let's see just how long you can keep up with me when you've got Yugo on your back." Just as I said that to Adamai, I saw Yugo's eyes go wide.

"Are you saying I'm heavy?!" Yugo asked as I quickly disappeared into my portal with a laugh. "Elena!" I heard him shout as I reappeared. There was sound that suspiciously sounded like Adamai's laughter as I continued to hop between portals. It didn't take long for Adamai to catch up to me, even with Yugo on his back. The grin on my face couldn't seem to go away as I caught sight of Adamai's amused look. Yugo saw me looking and made a face.

"I am not heavy!" He called up to me. Yugo let go of Adamai's horns and held a fist up at me. "See?! Ad caught up to you easily! Right, broth-"

I appeared back out of my portals just in time to witness Adamai falling a few feet in the air, making Yugo hold tightly onto Adamai's horns so that he wouldn't fall. Adamai caught himself, then flew up higher so that I could hear them.

"Oh sorry about that brother." Adamai said. A small and _mischievous_ smile was on his face and only I could see it. Yugo's eyes were wide and his knuckles were white. "It just that-" I fell in my portals and reappeared, automatically throwing two more portals to catch me. "-ed to flying with someone else yet. You know?" Yugo looked shocked as he stared at Adamai's back. Then his shocked look melted into a pout as he crossed his arms in front of him and tried to hide his face with his hat.

My eyes grew wide as my mind slowly pieced Adamai's words with Yugo's reaction. Did Adamai just indirectly call Yugo heavy? I fell into my portals and made two more when I appeared again.

"-'re supposed to be on my side Ad." Yugo said quietly. If I hadn't been portal jumping so close to them, I probably wouldn't have heard what Yugo had said. I made a strange noise before I broke out in laughter. I could practically feel when Yugo rolled his eyes at me as I portal jumped. For the rest of the day Adamai and I exchanged stories that only came from growing up on islands. Yugo eventually forgave us and joined in on our conversation.

Just as noon was passing I had grown quiet. My arms had begun to shake and my breathing was irregular. I tossed two more portals before I wiped my forehead with my arm. With each new portal that I made, I needed to put more concentration into them. The boys were flying just below me and I barely payed them any attention. It wasn't until I felt a sharp pain in my arms that I realized that I've probably been using my Wakfu for too long.

"Uh... guys..." I said, but neither Yugo nor Adamai looked up. I tried to throw two more portals and my vision went blurry. I groaned, and the portals that I made disappeared. I heard Yugo call out my name questionably as I began to fall head first to the ocean below.

I could barely force my eyes open against the sudden wind that was attacking my eyes. My arms felt cold and I wondered if a fall from this height could be broken by the water below. Managing to move my arms, I put them in front of me and tried to call upon my Wakfu. It felt as though I tried to pull up hot metal. The start of a portal appeared before it turned into a hot cloud of Wakfu and flew up around me in smoke.

The muscles in my arms seized up then, causing me to yelp out in pain and clutch them to my chest. I heard someone yell out my name again before a portal appeared before my eyes. Before I could blink, I was falling again, only this time I saw Yugo using Adamai's back to jump up and meet me half way.

"You okay?" Yugo asked as he caught me. I couldn't really reply with the stinging pain in my arms demanding my attention. I felt us go through another portal before I saw Adamai fly just below Yugo and I. Yugo placed me on Adamai's back and continued to use his portals to follow us.

"Elena?" Adamai asked, his voice sounding just as worried as Yugo's had. "What's wrong?"

I simply slumped forwards so that my forehead was on Adamai's horns. My arms stayed up by my chest but I could barely feel them. I could hear both Yugo and Adamai talking to one another but I couldn't really make out what they were saying. After a while of flying on Adamai's back, it started to feel as though my body was cooling down. Just as I got pins and needles racing through my arms, I felt Adamai land softly. I hadn't realized that I had my eyes closed until then.

"Elena?"

My eyes opened slowly. Shadows were stretching across the ground and it seemed to be darker out. I brought my head up higher, but I must have fallen asleep sometime during the flight because there was a terrible crook in my neck. With a noise that was a cross between a whimper and a groan, I managed to lift my head high enough to look in front of me. Yugo had crouched down in front of Adamai and had a worried expression on his face. When he saw that I was awake, he seemed to be a little more relieved.

"Are you okay, Elena?" Adamai's voice called up. I looked down at him and saw that he was straining to look at me over his head. Instead of answering, I tried to move my arms. I grit my teeth as I slowly unclasped my hands from one another. My hand trembled as I slowly flexed my fingers. I couldn't really feel my arm and it disturbed me to simply see it move without feeling what it was doing at the same time. I then tried to lift my arm, but it wouldn't move any higher than my chest height. I cringed.

"You've used too much Wakfu..." Adamai said, making me glance at him. It was hard to see but I thought there was a frown on his face. "Yugo, you're gonna have to help her down brother."

I blinked at Adamai as Yugo nodded. Then I remembered that Adamai had probably landed for a reason. Seeing Yugo walk to my left side, I carefully lifted up my right leg from Adamai's shoulder. It felt as though someone had strapped a ton of weights on my leg as I passed it over Adamai's head. Then I touched the ground with the tips of my toes before I slid myself forwards and off of the Dragon's back. I instantly fell forwards when my knees gave out on me. Before I could hit the ground roughly, Yugo caught me, and I hissed in pain as he held onto my arms.

"Here!" Adamai said, suddenly appearing beside me in his normal form again. "Put her over here." Adamai had pointed to a small patch of moss on the ground that was on my right. I took in a breath before I steeled myself. With the constant pressure of Yugo's hands on my sore arms, it was hard to concentrate on walking straight. Luckily for me, I didn't need to take more than a few steps before Yugo helped me sit down.

As soon as I didn't need his help anymore, Yugo let go of my arms and I sighed. Adamai crouched down at my side and carefully picked up my left arm, making me growl and whimper at him. Didn't they know that this hurt? After a moment I caught my breath, but kept my eyes closed against the pain as Adamai looked at my arms.

"S- sorry," I managed eventually, my breathing a little harder than it was a moment ago.

"What for?" Yugo asked, and I would have jumped at the sudden closeness of his voice if I weren't in pain. I grunted and moved my arms the best that I could without sending a jolt of pain through them. I think it must have looked more like an odd shrug though. I opened my eyes and saw that Yugo was siting down on my right while Adamai was nowhere in sight. Yugo frowned and shook his head at me, "it wasn't your fault." He said, then looked down at his lap. "I should have been paying more attention. _I'm_ sorry."

I watched him for a moment. He was sitting with his legs crossed in front of him. His hands were on his lap and he looked to be examining them closely. A sudden wave of pain shot up my arms like small needles prickling me all at once, making me clench my teeth and probably make a weird face. I shook my head as the pins and needles slowly went away and looked back over at Yugo.

"Wasn't your fault." I repeated, making him look up at me. I gave him the best smile that I could despite my discomfort. "I should have gotten your attention sooner." I amended, then remembered how he had saved me from flattening against the water. "Thank you." Yugo blinked, no longer understanding my train of thought. I felt myself relax a bit more at the sight. "For catching me."

Curiously, Yugo's azure eyes grew a fraction of their size larger. He had gone completely still and simply stared at me. It was as though he had just seen me grow an extra head that glowed fluorescent colors randomly. My eyebrows furrowed in confusion at his reaction.

"Yugo...?" I asked softly in attempt to gain his attention again. Then, like he was waking up from a dream, he blinked. Suddenly, as though I had said something incredibly embarrassing, Yugo could no longer look at me directly in he eyes.

Yugo looked off somewhere to the side of my face. His eyes would occasionally dart to mine for half a second before they would dart away again. His arm came up and he nervously scratched the back of his neck.

"Ah... um. T- that's fine! I- I mean, you're grateful for it... No! I'm happy you're helped! Happy _to_ help!" he corrected himself again, making me tilt my head to one side as I watched him fumble over his words. He was frantically moving his hands around as he spoke and it looked like a small bit of flush was growing on his cheeks. "A- after all, we're both El- Eliatropes and, and we look at each other...! OUT! We look _out_ for each other!"

I stayed silent.

"I got some fish!" I turned away from Yugo, who looked like he _really_ wanted to be anywhere but here at the moment, and saw Adamai walking up a hill with a bunch of fish in his hands. "These should make you feel better Elena." Adamai said when he arrived in front of us. He let the fish fall out of his hands and land on the ground messily. Then he looked up and frowned when he saw Yugo. "What's wrong brother?"

I looked back at Yugo and saw that he had hid his face in his hands. Yugo didn't say anything back to Adamai, but I could just see the tips of his ears turn pink at Adamai's question. Yugo shook his head and Adamai looked to me for an explanation.

I shrugged my shoulders the best that I could.


	12. Dofus Island

**AN: Sorry it took so long guys. Lot's ended up happening for me. Anyways, I hope you enjoy :)**

* * *

The sun glared down on us from it's spot in the sky. All day it seemed all too eager to cook the three of us as we traveled onward, towards the south. Luckily, the air currents that traveled above the ocean were cool and refreshing. Thus we were kept from over heating as we moved.

Yugo, Adamai and I had left the small rock-like island that they had stopped at yesterday. I had fallen asleep quickly after Adamai managed to cook the fish. As a result, I had woken up early too. By the time that Yugo and Adamai were awake, I had already gone to the water and gathered up a decent pile of fish to eat for breakfast. I made sure to thank them both for looking out for me by cooking the fish with a stamina-replenishing plant that I had come across on that island.

Thankfully, I seemed to be completely healed of the Wakfu drain-induced symptoms that I had gotten from our first day of traveling over the ocean. My muscles no longer screamed at me when I moved my arms and there was no burning fire sensation when I called upon my Wakfu.

Already, most of the day had gone by and the sun was slowly starting to set in the distance. Somehow the hot sun seemed to blaze even brighter from our vantage point high above the ocean. It seemed to glare down on us with it's red gaze that had the intent to remember where we were headed, so it could attempt and cook us again the next day. I for one, was ready for the cool night that was to come. My skin was heated enough from the exercise of portal jumping, and it hadn't appreciated the sun's attempts to cook me mid-air.

Not much had happened during the day that had gone by. Yugo and I switched between resting from Adamai's back and portal jumping every time that one of us was beginning to show signs of tire. If one of us tired too much while jumping once, we wouldn't be able to portal jump long enough for the other to recover. It was a difficult task, trying to time when to switch, but Adamai had kept his attention sharp and seemed to time the switches almost perfectly for us. I think that my fall from yesterday may have scared him and brought about the mindset of wanting no repeats of it anytime in the future for him. And as the morning passed on, the timing between the switches for Yugo and I became shorter. We were both beginning to tire and the breaks from using our portals had become too short to be as restful as they needed to be.

Unfortunately the islands around here were few and far in-between also. By the time that we had spotted the first island since we left that morning, it was just past lunch. It had been a very small island that barely stuck out of the ocean. The only reason that we hadn't missed it was because of the beautifully colored coral cove that had surrounded the small mass of green grass and sand. There, I had shown Yugo and Adamai how to fish with our portals. We had to rely on Adamai's fire to cook the fish for us afterwards, but the small recovery break was greatly welcomed. When Adamai's wings had rested long enough, we left.

Since our break, we alternated between a series of mind games to keep ourselves occupied- all of which I had learned of for the first time. It had been during a game of riddles- that had lasted an oddly long time compared to the two previous games of 'I Spy' and 'Make Up A Story'- that I had noticed Yugo's fatigue. His movements were beginning slow and he had a concentrated look to his eyes. It wasn't from trying to figure out the riddle that I had asked though.

As Yugo appeared out of another one of his portals, I reached down and patted Adamai's shoulder. He had been muttering to himself as he tried to figure out the answer of the riddle, so he gave me a slightly annoyed look as I got his attention away from the game. The look quickly disappeared though, when I gestured to Yugo with my eyes. When I saw the dragon's look of understanding turn to worry when he glanced up at his brother, I didn't need any more prompting. Carefully, I stood up on Adamai's back and prepared a portal for me to enter somewhere above our heads.

Adamai's body jerked upwards suddenly, as though there was something that he needed to dodge underneath him. Instead of loosing my balance and falling off, I used the upwards momentum that Ad had provided for me to jump higher than I would have by myself. Just before I could enter my portal, I threw the portal that I would exit through as far from where we were as I could. It wasn't just about being able to keep up with Adamai's speed. The distance that we had to cover needed to be shortened and the only way that would happen was if the portals were as far apart as they could be.

As I had thrown my exit portal, Adamai increased his flying speed. Just ahead of me, Yugo had thrown his own set portals. Due to his exhaustion though, he didn't notice me set up my own. I glanced over my shoulder as I suddenly entered and exited my portals within a blink of an eye. Now I was in front of Adamai and Yugo as the former caught the latter on his back before Yugo could throw his next set of portals. I threw my own exit portal somewhere far towards the south before I put the enter portal where I had started to descend.

Forwards, I leapt in a long arc in the air. It was almost like falling forwards until gravity remembered that you existed. Just before it could catch me, I'd make my next set portals again. If I had never flown with Adamai before, I would have said that this was exactly what flying was.

The next time that I reappeared, Yugo and Adamai were flying just below me. Yugo was slumped forwards on Adamai's horns and there was a tired expression on his face. Adamai was simply looking forwards to where he needed to go but there was worry in his own expression. With the sun going down, we could only hope to run into another island soon.

It was quiet for a bit as Yugo caught his breath, Adamai flew and I portal jumped. It wasn't until a little while later that Adamai had spoken up.

"A panda lily!" he exclaimed triumphantly, looking up at me. I could only blink down at the white dragon in surprise.

"Yeah." I said after reappearing, remembering the riddle that I had given them. Then I smiled at Adamai, "Yeah, you got it!"

"I've never heard of that," Yugo said looking between the two of us curiously.

"It's a red and black spotted flower that has the habit of growing at the lip of volcanoes. They're... really pretty, but rather dangerous to get. Grugal told me that you Eliatropes would exchange these flowers with one another when you chose your life mate." Adamai replied, pausing when I'd disappear so that I could hear all of the conversation. When I reappeared again I found Adamai giving me a curious look. "I didn't think there was a volcano on Moon Island."

"There wasn't." I replied while setting up my next portals automatically. "When Saul- a human from the village- stayed with me, he was able to share some of his medical knowledge. See, the panda lily's are used for boiling into a soothing tea..." I paused my sentence as I entered my portal, then continued upon my exit. "...that can cure most simple maladies but also knock you out for quite some time."

The boy's hummed in answer. A moment of silence passed where we all simply enjoyed the cool evening breeze. Then, as I reappeared through my portal, I spotted something ahead.

"Hey, what is that?" I asked, squinting my eyes to try and see farther. Yugo had sat up properly at my question and I could see Adamai staring intently ahead. It was nothing but a small dark dot in the distance, but with a few more portal jumps, the dot had grown much larger.

"An island!" I said excitedly, glad that it didn't seem to be too far ahead.

"It's about time," Yugo commented with a lazy smile, "I was starting to get hungry." My own stomach grumbled it's agreement at that.

"And I was starting to get tired," Adamai said, then glanced up at Yugo with a mischievous look. "And with this weight of a wild boar on my back, I didn't know how much longer I'd be able to go!"

"Wha-" was all that I heard Yugo say as I bursted out in laughter from the unexpected comment. My portals absorbed me, making my laughter cut off abruptly for anyone who was listening. When I was spat back out again, Yugo was still talking. "You're the wild boar!"

I shook my head in amusement, and looked towards the oncoming island. It was a very big landmass. As the island grew closer, the edges of the water in the distance seemed to get consumed by the new land. It was amazing how such a large place had looked so small from far away.

It didn't take us much longer before we arrived. There were large pillars of rust-colored stones which stood erect from the ground and scattered all about. The pillars seemed to be the replacements for trees, since I couldn't spot a single bark-covered plant anywhere that I looked. Along the sandy beach was a beautiful cove. Some of the rocks from the main part of the land had even formed a bridge-like structure over part of cove, making part of it look as though it were in a cave.

Adamai sped up his flight when he flew over the cove, prompting me to go faster in order to keep up. The large stone pillars only gained in height and number as we traveled towards the center of the island. The tall pillars had quickly gained jagged edges and precarious tilts until they simply formed together to create tall and dry canyons. They stretched on for as far as my eyes could see.

"Ladies, gentlemen... and wild boars!" Adamai called out suddenly, catching me off guard. I had to stifle a laugh in order to hear what else he had to say. Yugo simply rolled his eyes and shook his head, too tired to care anymore. "I present to you; the wonderful, beautiful- Dofus Island!"

Adamai landed on top of a canyon wall and I was quick to appear near the same spot. The sun had already started it's decent in the sky, causing the area to be cast in shadows. My stomach pinched in hunger and I was more than ready to eat before falling asleep.

"The captain informs the lady and wild boar that dinner will be served right away." Adamai said with a teasing smile as Yugo slid off of his back. I glanced away from to boys before they could catch my amused smile, and studied a canyon wall that happened to be taller than the one we were on. Once I had a handle of my smile, I changed it to an eager one before I looked back at them.

"That sounds great Adamai!" I said, before my stomach could complain again. Yugo hummed in agreement as Ad turned himself into his version of an Eliatrope.

His transformation wasn't an exact match though. Adamai's skin was a ghostly white and there were blue scales surrounding his eyes. His lips were also covered in blue scales and his feet had remained a dragon-like shape. There was a wooden-looking hat on his head, which covered most of his face and had three holes in it for the tips of his dragon horns to show. His ears were unusually pointy and his fingernails looked to be much thicker than regular ones. The clothes that Ad chose to wear were clearly the bear minimum. It was just an oversized blue shirt- which matched the blue of his scales- and two yellow straps that kept the shirt from falling off of his body. Despite these oddities, if I had encountered Adamai from afar, it wouldn't have been hard to mistake him for a human of some kind.

The dragon smiled at us mischievously from under his hat before he took off towards the ocean. I looked around the area then, but couldn't find any trees.

"I... don't think there's gonna be a fire." I said as I looked over at Yugo. He nodded silently in response. Then, as though we had spoken an agreement, Yugo and I set out to search for stones. We had done something similar earlier in the day, when we stopped for lunch, under Adamai's instruction. So identifying the small stones that would hold heat and the large stones to make a wall, wasn't too difficult.

With every five or so stones that I'd gather, I'd make a set of portals to the area that we landed, and toss them in. With a glance over my shoulder, I could tell that Yugo had done the same as me. And as a result, the pile that we had started, grew to a large size rather quickly. It wasn't until Yugo had called me over that I realized just how quickly the pile had grown.

"Hmmm," I stated, while staring at the pile of rocks in front of me. I had sat with my legs crossed on the ground in order to get a better look at the pile of rocks. "Just how big do you think Adamai's going to need this to be?" I asked Yugo, who was sitting with his legs crossed in front of me, on the other side of the pile.

"Let's go with this big." Yugo stated, circling the circumference of the pile in front of us with his hand. I nodded in agreement, deciding that it was about the same size that we had made the fire pit during lunch. As soon as I had nodded my agreement, Yugo and I set to work on separating the rocks into two piles, that were no longer directly in front of us.

The pile to my left side held all of the rocks that were too dense to hold heat while being mostly smooth and flat. If these stones were hit too hard with another, they'd break into more pieces. The pile to my right held all the rocks that consisted more of condensed sand then rock. They'd hold more heat but they tended to crumble a bit while handled, making my hands feel dry and sandy after touching them.

Once the two piles were made, Yugo began to set up the outline of the fire pit with the flat stones. He'd dig the thin sides of the stone into the thin layer of dirt that we were sitting on, so that they looked like they had been stood up on their sides. This way, the entire surface area of the stone could be used as extra height in the wall. Only, there wasn't enough dirt to keep the stones up, and they kept on falling.

"Do you think something's bothering Ad?" I asked as I picked out two heavier crumbly stones. To keep the wall sturdy, I'd set a single crumbly stone on the outside of the wall before placing one on the inside of the wall as well. Now the flat stones no longer fell, and the growing frustration that Yugo was feeling had begun to dissipate into thankfulness.

"What do you mean?" he asked, eyes set in determination as he built his wall carefully.

"On my island, the villagers always wore masks. I could never see their faces whenever we spoke, so I had to know if they were being truthful or not based on their voice." I explained, following Yugo's outline of the fire pit easily with my own stones. "But you guys don't have that- the mask. And because of that, I've noticed that sometimes a voice can say one thing while the eyes say something completely different." Yugo looked up at me then, pausing in his work, and blinked. The look on his face clearly told me that I had stated a truth that he had always subconsciously known, but hadn't really acknowledged the fact until I had pointed it out. He nodded after he had processed what I said, and went back to his current task. "Just before he turned to go and get some fish, I thought I saw something in Adamai's eyes. It looked sad."

Yugo paused what he was doing, but kept his eyes on the flat stones in his hands. He was looking carefully at the stone, as though he was trying to figure out a secret that it was carrying. "It... probably has to do with Grougal." he said after a while, placing the last flat stone in the wall. It didn't look much like the fire pit that we had made this afternoon, but the idea was there. Once the wall was about two flat stones tall- and not about to fall thanks to my stones- we filled in the empty center.

I took a moment to think about it, and realized that he was probably right. Grougaloragran was like a father to Adamai... Loosing him so suddenly... he couldn't simply get over it. The pain will always be with him and only time would be able to dull the pain that he feels.

I hummed in agreeance, nodding my head slightly and looked down at the fire pit. Some flat stones had been placed flat against the ground before the crumbly stones were placed on top. It was to try and keep the heat within the confines of the fire pit. I felt quite proud of the finished project. And it retained the shape of a large oval instead of a circle, reminding me of a birds egg.

With a single glance at Yugo from under the brim of my hat, I could tell that he was troubled and worried. I was too. Adamai was hurt in a way that no medicine that I ever made could fix. Grougaloragran's Dofus needed to be retrieved before Nox got to it. And Amalia's kingdom was under attack. We had no idea of knowing if, after we retrieved the Dofus, Nox had attacked already. For all we knew, when we travel to the Sadida Kingdom, it could already be in flames. At the same time, we might be able to make it back on time to help our friends, before Nox could arrive at his destination.

Feeling troubled myself now, I frowned. The worried look on Yugo's face made my heart beat in a painful way. His azure eyes seemed to loose their light. His face was downcast, which made the shadows of the night darken his features. It was difficult to see, but I was almost certain that he was frowning too.

Quietly, I crawled over to Yugo's side of our fire pit. He didn't look up as I sat down beside him. He hardly seemed to notice me move as he stared hard at the dry and cracked earth we were camping on. I leaned forward a bit to try and get a better look at Yugo's face. Gradually, watching him carefully for any discomfort, I moved myself closer to his side. The end of my long hat had slid over my shoulder and rested on my left arm due to my movement, but it hardly bothered me. It almost felt like static ran across the bare skin of my right arm as I gently pressed my side against his.

At the contact, Yugo looked up. He lifted his head so that his eyes could find mine from under the brim of his hat. There was a turmoil in his azure eyes. He was worried, about several things probably, and he didn't seem to know how to go about fixing it. There was a tiredness too. It wasn't like the fatigue that we both felt from traveling so far with our portals. It was the tiredness that you could feel from trying to hide your worries from others. The tiredness that you showed after a long day of pretending like none of your worries existed.

I tore my gaze away from Yugo as I heard two thumps on my left. Two large, dead fish stared back at me with their dark eyes. Surprised, I looked up from fish near my legs and spotted Adamai walking towards a pile of rocks that was a few feet from where Yugo and I were seated.

"Ad?" Yugo asked, and the Eliatrope-dragon turned his head so that he was facing us.

"Yeah?" he asked, bending over to grab a bunch of stones and pile them in his arms.

"What are you doing?" Yugo questioned, and the dragon walked back over to us. There was a glint in his eyes and an odd grin fighting to make itself known on his face.

"Oh nothing. Just making a fire pit." Adamai said casually, making me frown. "Sorry if I distracted you guys, but your both welcome to help me when your done staring at one another."

"Wha-?!" Yugo gasped and his body went a little stiff beside me. I watched as Adamai's grin slowly turned into a smirk as he watched Yugo. I glanced over at him myself and saw that his eyes had gone wide. He opened and closed his mouth, as though he was trying to give a retort, but no words came out. I looked back to Adamai and furrowed my eyebrows.

"But we already made one," I stated, gesturing to the fire pit in front of Yugo and I. Adamai glanced at the egg-like fire pit.

"...Oh." Was his response. It had come out almost hesitantly, as though he had a completely different thought of what the oval was supposed to be. He walked over and poked one of the sides. The stones held firm, until the stone that had been touched wobbled. It toppled over, and as though it were some sort of cue, the rest of the wall followed suit. A sad noise left my throat at the sight. All that was left in tact was the outlined inside of the fire pit.

* * *

 _A slow song left my mouth as I hummed to myself quietly. It was a song of faith dedicated to the Goddess Eliatrope. It was stuck in my head since a festival in our Goddess's honor would be held within a few days._

 _Currently, I was out near the edge of a forest, just behind the medical building of our village. I had built a garden here long ago. In this garden, I kept rare medicinal herbs that are difficult to find or too far away to access quickly. Some of the herbs grow as tall as I stand. Their large leaves are purple and are as large as my two hands pressed together with my fingers outstretched. Others are as tall as my longest finger, with leaves as small as the nail on my pinky._

 _Plants of all colors, shapes and sizes grew here. The tallest plants, I placed closest to the forest, in their own garden bed, which I had lined with large river stones. The garden bed was made in a horseshoe shape, with each end against the medical building, making my herb garden an enclosed space. At the center of the area was a large, circular water fountain. This water fountain was modified so that it had three tiers to it. The top tier had water flowing from the very top and into it. The water was slow enough to fill the top tier that it would send small droplets into the second tier periodically. Instead of another basin to hold water, the second tier was where I kept my smaller herbs. The last tier of the water fountain held all of the left-over water that the second tier didn't need, and sent it back up to the top._

 _Humming contently to myself as I walked in my herb garden, I inspected the plants carefully. Any weeds that tried to grow, I'd remove. Any area that looked a little dry, I grab water from my fountain with my portals and let it fall like rain onto my taller plants. Dried up or dead parts of my herbs, I would remove and make sure that it would recover. Herbs that I was beginning to loose stock on, I would pluck and take along with me for later._

 _It was as I picked a few ripe leaves of Wakfu Gel plants that I heard the door from the medical building, that lead to my garden, open. With a curious glance over my shoulder, I saw that it was my assistant standing by the door. She wore a red Eliatrope hat and pants with a light red- almost pink- colored shirt. There was an uncertain look to her face as her pink eyes caught my turquoise ones._

 _"Nora," I stated, surprised to see her. She had said that she could take care of the few Eliatropes that had gotten hurt badly enough to stay here until they'd recovered. But as I watched her wring her hands and have trouble keeping my gaze, the feeling that something had happened started to pool at the base of my gut. "What's wrong?"_

 _"Ah, um, miss Elena..." Nora started, her eyes shifting from one side of the garden to the other. "S- someone has come asking for you..." Then the girl took a breath and closed her eyes tightly, before she spoke extremely quickly. "andImayhavebrokenafewofyourmedicinevialsbecauseIwassuprisedbytheirappearance!"_

 _I blinked. "Come again?"_

 _"I'm really sorry!" Nora suddenly cried, as though I hadn't spoken. She was looking at me in the eyes, desperately pleading me to believe her. There were small tears at the corners of her eyes as she pleaded at me. "I didn't mean to! I even cleaned it all up!"_

 _"Nora,"_

 _"He just closed the door loudly- exactly as I was about to grab the Wakfu Gel!"_

 _"Nora,"_

 _"-and my wrist ended up hitting the glass vial next to it! It really was an accident! I'm so sorry! I know you told me that there's some medicine that's really hard to make because the herbs are so rare!" The poor girl was pacing back and forth in front of the door to the building, her hands flailing about as she tried to explain and think of a solution at the same time. "I swear it was an accident! If you give me a map with all the special locations on them, I promise to leave to find each and_ every _herb that your missing tomorrow. No wait- I'll go today!"_

 _"Nora!"_

 _The girl stopped her pacing abruptly, and looked at me. I had already gotten up from my crouched position by the herb bed. With a calming look, I walked over to her and placed a hand on her shoulder._

 _"It's alright." I said softly, giving her a smile. "Before you start making me promises, why don't we go and take a look at the damages, yeah?"_

 _Nora made a small whimpering noise at the back of her throat. From the look she was giving me, I could tell that she expected me to be extremely angry. ...Hopefully the damage wouldn't be too bad. I directed her into the building, my hand going to her upper back as she walked in front of me. My hand fell back to my side as we entered the building and Nora led me to the scene of the accident._

 _My stomach dropped as my eyes took in just how many of my medicines were now missing. There was an entire two shelves worth of medicine that was gone. I didn't think that it was possible for something like that to happen so suddenly. Not to mention that some of the medicine that had been broken were the ones that I had spent years in trying to perfect. Medicine to make healing faster, medicine to taste a certain way so that children would take it too... gone. All in an instant. All I could do was thank the goddess that I had written down every step that I had taken in my notebook._

 _Now greatly troubled, I struggled to give Nora a reply. She had gone back to fiddling with her hands and would occasionally play with the tuft of fur at the end of her hat. Slowly, I took in a breath, then let it out. It didn't calm me nearly as much as I had wanted it to. Then, out of the corner of my eye, I spotted someone coming towards us. Turning to face them completely, I saw that it was Yugo._

 _He was wearing blue pants that matched with his hat, but his shirt was completely yellow. The two colors didn't go together very well at all. He stopped a few feet away from me, and gave me a sheepish smile._

 _"Sorry about the medicine, Elena." He said while rubbing the back of his head. "I didn't think that I could startle someone by closing a door."_

Neither did I _, I thought as I looked over to Nora. Her eyes had gone wide and a small gasp left her as she looked between the two of us quickly. Her face had gone pale but I could see in her eyes just how remorseful she was. I took another breath and didn't bother to look back at the scarily empty shelves._

 _"It happens." I said softly, before noticing the bandage on Yugo's arm. I had yet to overlook the injuries that I had dressed yesterday. I looked back to Nora, and she still had a stricken look to her. I gave her a soft smile. "When you finish with your last task, you may go home Nora. But I'll need you to be back here at sunrise tomorrow. Make sure to bring items for travel as well."_

 _"Y- yes ma'am." Nora squeaked. The look she gave me was one of utter remorse. Then she turned on her heel and went straight for the back rooms of the medical building, where Eliatropes too hurt to leave stayed._

 _"This way," I said to Yugo as she left. He blinked before he followed, looking back over his shoulder briefly. I brought him to the same cot that he was on yesterday. Seeing it, he quickly sat down and held his arm up for me with a crooked smile._

 _I paused, wondering what he was thinking of at that moment. Carefully, I took his arm in my hands and begun to take off the gauze and tape that I had used to keep his wound together. It came off easily, but pieces of the gauze had gotten caught in the scab that had begun to form over the wound._

 _"Woah." Yugo said, staring with wide eyes at the healing wound. I couldn't help but feel a swell of pride grow in my chest. "The Wakfu Gel plants found all over aren't nearly as effective as this." he said in awe. Then his eyes met mine. He had a certain look that I thought I recognized, but I wasn't sure. "How did you manage to do that?"_

 _"I simply mixed the Gel with a specific herb that I found enhanced it's healing abilities." I replied, smiling from his praise._

 _My fingers gently brushed against the rough scab on his upper arm. As carefully and precisely as I could, I plucked out every small piece of gauze fluff that I could see. It took a little while, but eventually, I finished._

 _"Now off with your shirt." I told him as I scooped up the gauze fluff into the palm of my hand in order to throw the pieces away._

 _"Normally I'd refuse," Yugo said as I turned to put the pieces in the garbage. "But for you, Elena, I don't seem to mind at all."_

 _I stood up and made a show of rolling my eyes at him. Yugo grinned cheekily at me as he put his yellow shirt beside him on the cot. Systematically, I begun to unwrap the cotton from around his chest. It had kept the medicine that I had used from rubbing off onto his clothes. The bruises were now practically non-existent at the size of my wrist instead of covering most of his upper body._

 _"You're gonna make the girl go and get replacement plants, aren't you?" Yugo suddenly asked me, making me look up from examining his bruises. His gaze was natural as he looked me steadily in the eyes._

 _"I am." I said while summoning my Wakfu to the palm of my hands. Gently, I began to massage his ribs. It took me barely a moment to know that they hadn't healed as much as everything else had. "But she won't be alone." He gave me a questioning look, "I'll be going with her. It'll make things faster and there are some herbs that are rather dangerous to attain. Some you cannot tell apart from poisonous plants unless you try them. It will be much safer for me to go with her."_

 _"Poison?!"_

 _I nodded. "There is a very fine line between healing and killing when it comes to herbs. Unless applied properly, the most proficient healing herb could become the deadliest." I stated matter of factually as I rubbed a surviving healing ointment into Yugo's skin. "Because of my proficiency with herbs, however, their poisons wont affect me as much as it would affect another Eilatrope. This ointment, for example," I held up the glass jar as I retrieved more of it, "could kill someone if ingested. But it heals minor skin abrasions when applied directly to wounds."_

 _Yugo looked a little startled as he watched me massage more of the ointment into his skin. The bruises that were about the size of my wrist before, had already visibly healed and shrunk in size due to my diligence. He blinked before his gaze held determination._

 _"Well, at least allow me to accompany you." he requested, surprising me. I paused from my kneading and could feel his heart beating under the palms of my hands. It slowly begun to pick up its pace as I stared, wondering why he wanted to come along. "I mean, i- if it's alright with you. It was practically my fault for startling her... and I can help to protect you both from any danger you might come across too."_

 _"Are you sure?" I asked after a moment, raising an eyebrow at him. "We might not come back on time for the festival. Don't you have an important role to play, Sir Knight?"_

 _"Ah- no. It'll be alright. Grougaloragran can pick any one of the other Knights, I don't have to be there personally." he replied back with an easy smile. I hummed in thought, thinking on it as I returned to healing him. There were some areas that Nora and I would need to go that were more dangerous than others. It would be helpful for him to come along._

 _"If you say so," I replied back with a smile, looking up at him from under the brim of my hat. It didn't take me much longer to finish and wrap up his chest again. I tapped the back of my knuckle on the end of the cotton fabric teasingly, making him flinch in surprise before he put his shirt back on. "I'll see you in the morning then, Yugo."_

* * *

"Grougaloragran would be proud of us." was the first thing that I heard as I started to wake up. I could feel the heat of the sun shining on my back, coaxing me to wake up.

"His Dofus is hidden somewhere near the center of the island," a second voice replied, keeping me from slipping back into unconsciousness. "In a special place where only dragons can go. We gotta be quick!"

Lazily, I lifted the arm that I wasn't sleeping on and begun to rub the eye crusts out of my eyes. If I didn't rub them off first, they'd always fall into my eyes, making them sting for most of my morning.

"With a little luck we'll be able to get to the Dofus before Nox even realizes it exists." the voice continued, and I realized that it was Adamai who was speaking. Slowly I sat up, grumbling to myself under my breath of how loud the two boys could apparently be. My mood instantly changed, however, when my nose told me of the food that Adamai was apparently cooking. "Breakfast's ready!"

Not bothering to get up, I crawled the small distance from my resting spot to the fire pit. Az zoomed by my head and dive bombed the fish before anyone could protest. Adamai laughed at the birds actions as I crossed my legs and reached to grab a piece of fish that had yet to have feathers on it. Absently, I acknowledged Yugo sitting down on my right and grabbing some food for himself. Adamai sat across from us with a fish as large as his head in his hands. The white little dragon could eat a lot more food than both Yugo and I combined.

None of us spoke much as we ate. I felt rather tired still, but it might be because of how late we had stayed up last night. When the stars had come out, Adamai had explained to Yugo and I how it was that he knew where to go despite never stepping foot off of his island before. Then, just before we fell asleep, he promised to show us how to see the Wakfu with our hearts in the morning.

With a piece of fish plopped in my mouth, I remembered that it was currently morning. As though I had just lifted a sleeping spell from myself, I quickly finished eating the rest of my piece of fish. I turned excitedly to Adamai and saw that he had already walked to the edge of the canyon wall that we were camped on. Seeing that Yugo had finished his food as well, I got up and walked over to Ad.

As though he could sense us, Adamai spoke the moment that Yugo and I were standing side by side, directly behind him. "The first thing that Grougal showed me was how to visualize Wakfu." Adamai began, clenching his Eliatrope-like hands by his side. Then he turned and gave us both a smile. "This should be pretty easy for you guys though, since I had you do it already once before."

We were directed to a lone pillar a few feet away from the canyon wall that we were standing on. Yugo and I used our portals to get to it before we sat down and crossed our legs. My hands were on my knees as an exact copy of what Yugo had done. We were facing one another, but we were looking at Adamai, who was floating just beside us in the air. He had crossed his arms and gained a serious look onto his face. Tilting his chin out a little, Ad closed his eyes and spoke with a very serious voice.

"Close your eyes and empty your mind you must."

"Why are you talking backwards?" Yugo asked curiously as Az flew around his head. Adamai opened a blue lidded eye and shrugged.

"Not sure. Grugal used to do it. I think it's for concentration?" He hummed a moment in thought before he shook his head and closed his eyes again. "Okay, interrupt me do not!" I smiled and held back a small laugh. "Close your eyes and a void in your mind make."

"A void?" I asked, tilting my head curiously. Adamai opened an eye again and looked at me.

"Yeah, think of nothing." he responded. Just as he was about to close his eye again, I spoke.

"But I'm still thinking if I think of 'nothing'." Adamai gave me a look. I heard Yugo snicker as Adamai shook his head. He rubbed his forehead in exasperation.

Then he sighed, "Ah! Just...! Clear your mind of _all_ thoughts."

"We better be careful Elena, Ad might not want to teach us anymore." Yugo snickered as I closed my eyes.

"Hush Yugo," Adamai said, his tone telling me that he _was_ getting rather annoyed. With a smile on my face, I tried my best to clear my mind of all thoughts.

Saying to clear your thoughts was an easy task. Actually clearing all thoughts from your mind was an entirely other matter. As soon as I was left to my own thoughts, worry almost instantly consumed me. The most immediate worry that I felt was for Amalia, Evangeline, Dally and Rule. I wanted very much to know if they were okay. Had they run into trouble on their way to the northern portal? My heart beat almost painfully in my chest at the thought of not being able to help them. They were the kindest people that I had ever met. I wanted no harm to come to them.

With great difficulty did I manage to put those thoughts aside. Into a box they went with a sticker that read 'FRAGILE: DO NOT TOUCH' plastered on the lid. Just as I had managed to tuck those thoughts away, other worrying thoughts pushed themselves to the forefront of my mind.

We needed to get to the Dofus before it could be stolen. Adamai's heart has been wounded in a way that was very difficult to heal and I didn't know how to help him. Yugo wanted to help his brother and the others at the same time, but had to choose between them. And personally, I didn't want to loose anyone who I've met so far. They've all been more than kind to me. Treated me as though I were with them from the beginning of their journey. That was something very precious to me, and I wasn't ready to loose it.

Slowly, I took in a deep breath. I concentrated on the air in my lungs until the cool sensation begun to burn. Just as slow as before, I forced myself to let the breath go calmly. As the hot breath left me, so did my thoughts. No longer would I allow myself to worry. At this moment I needed to concentrate on what I could do at this very moment. And that was deepening my understanding of the magic within me.

"Wakfu is all around us, in everything." Adamai's voice spoke softly, gently. He had my attention immediately. "Sometimes it's strong, sometimes it's weak. According to Grougal, it is the basis of all magic. Especially dragon and Eliatrope magic." There was a few more moments of silence before Adamai spoke again. "Concentrate totally on your inner sounds. The sound of your heart. the blood flowing in your veins."

It took me moment, but as I concentrated, the steady beat of my heart almost became loud in my ears. I could feel the beat of my heart though my veins. It pumped blood out from the core of my body and out into my arms and legs, then up to the tips of my ears. Steadily it beat, causing an odd sense of calm to overcome me. It was me. And it was proof that I was alive. With every beat of my heart, I could practically feel the Wakfu in the air being absorbed and remitted. It almost felt as though the Wakfu was flowing within me as easily as my blood. As though I needed it to function just as much as I needed air to fill my lungs.

"Now take in close sounds." Adamai's voice sounded again, softly and almost in a whisper. "The sound your breathing. The movement of the wind against your clothes. My voice. Hear them all at once."

As Adamai said, I begun to listen to the sound of our breathing. I could hear Yugo's the most since he was directly in front of me. I had to listen a little harder to hear Adamai's breathing, but it was there. They both had a calm breathing rhythm, like mine. Then there was Az, who's breathing was short and quick in order to sustain his tiny body while in flight. The little bird was flying somewhere nearby, allowing me to hear the frantic flapping of his small wings clearly.

"And finally, distant sounds." Adamai said, now starting to sound a little excited. It made me want to smile, but I'd loose concentration and stop listening if I did.

The distant sounds of the wind going through the canyon washed towards me. There was a rustling sound as the wind traveled through the canyon, as though there was a plant that could survive in the conditions out here. The small buzz of bugs warming up their wings in the morning rays of sunlight echoed around us, making me feel as though this were the specific sound of the sun.

"Keep listening, but also focus on the taste in your mouth." Almost instantly, the taste of the fish from breakfast came to mind. My tongue moved in my mouth, making me realize just how thirsty I was at the moment. "Then take in all of the smells around you. What odors do you recognize?"

A frown came to my face for a split second. Was Adamai trying to tell us something? Mentally I shook my head- concentrate.

It didn't take much concentration on my part to take in the scents around me. There was the dry smell of the air as any moisture that was created during the night was evaporated by the sun. Dust tickled at the back of my nose, almost making me sneeze. Then there was the distant smell of cooked meat, reminding of the taste on my tongue.

"Touch! Feel the clothing on your body. The heat of the sun, the wind on your skin."

It almost seemed overwhelming to think of all these things at once. My taste, touch, smell and hearing. Yet, as though I had done this a million times before, my mind seemed to separate into compartments that focused on a single sense each. To not overwhelm my brain with all the information, my brain would turn to each focused compartment one by one; 'is there any rain?' my brain would ask. 'Can't hear water touching the ground' the hearing compartment would answer. 'Can't taste any water in the air' my taste compartment would answer. 'Nothing wet is falling on us.' would be the answer from my sense of touch. 'Taste is right, no water in the air.' would be the answer from my sense of smell. And, with a checklist of survival needs, my brain would continue with it's interrogation of my senses.

"Now," Adamai said, distracting me from my inner self. "Imagine Az. He's lost somewhere and we really need to find him. And... _look!_ "

With Adamai suddenly shouting from somewhere near my ears, my eyes opened instantly in alarm. And nothing was in color. No, in actuality, everything was simply replaced with the singular color of blue. Az was flying in front of me, his back towards me. His tiny round body was highlighted in a bright blue flame. Adamai, so was floating to my left, was also outlined in the blue flame. Dark gray-blue lines seemed to keep the flames within him, and helped me to see some details of his face- like where his eyes and mouth were.

The stone pillar that we were sitting on held very little of the blue flame. It almost looked like we were sitting on solid water that had been faded from it's dark blue color into an almost gray-blue color. The canyons around us held many dark patches where there were no blue flames at all. As I looked around, I realized that my heart was practically beating in my throat. This was an entirely new and beautiful way to look at the world.

"Oh wow!" Yugo's voice said, making my attention turn to him. Just like Adamai, he had a very bright flame covering him. Yet as I watched it float about him, it started to dim. "It's-! It's- oh, it's gone..."

And just as Yugo said, the flames that I was seeing slowly flickered out of existence. It wasn't like watching a flame of a fire dye. It was more like my eyes preferred to see in color, but the flames didn't exist with the rest of the colors. They had their own realm of of existence to dwell in. As my vision went back to normal, I felt an almost immediate prickling at the back of my eyes. I brought my hands up and rubbed my eyes until the sensation went away.

"At least it came!" Adamai said happily, "It's all about perspective. Did you see it too Elena?"

"Yeah," I said, opening one of my eyes and cringing from the sudden light from the sun. I went back to rubbing my eyes. "What is this Adamai, it's weird." I complained.

"It's your eyes adjusting. You must have used the sight before because the prickling doesn't usually happen until it's been used a couple times first." he replied easily, and a little curiously. "It's like opening an old dusty window. The more you open it, the easier it gets to do so. But you need to clear any cobwebs first, or the view wont be as nice."

"I told you we'd get it!" Yugo said proudly from in front of me. I could hear the smile that he had in his voice.

"Okay," Adamai said happily, if not a little smugly, "now lets try that a few more times. Then you guys can try it for real."


	13. Igol

A contented sigh left my lips as I floated easily on my back. The early morning sun had yet to make the sky blue, but the ocean water was already warm. It tempted me to stay exactly where I was, to forget about everything. And if I didn't have Grougal's Dofus to save, I just might have stayed here for the rest of the day.

Of course, that thought was rather impractical. My skin would eventually loose so much water that it would begin to blister. I know this because I had once attempted to stay in the water for a very long time, when I had just started to live with Moon. It had also left me feeling incredibility thirsty.

With a deep breath trapped in my lungs, I quickly dove into the cove water. I could feel the ends of my hair brush against my bare shoulders as the water carried it up behind me. My eyes opened and I couldn't help the smile that made it's way onto my face.

The water was beautiful. I could clearly see the sandy bottom of the cove, and the large pieces of red and green coral that lived there. Shafts of bright sunlight pierced the water from above, lighting up certain reflective corals and making the water even warmer than before. Colorful fish swam between the corals and I was almost certain that I had spotted a crab snatch a fish as it swam by.

As I floated between the surface of the water and the sand below, I ran my fingers through my hair. Any knots that my fingers ran into, I'd carefully undo- the added silky component that water gave my hair helped immensely.

When my lungs started to burn, I swam my way back up to the surface. My eyes immediately closed as my head emerged from the water and droplets ran down my face freely before I could wipe them away with my hand.

Feeling much better, I swam towards shore until my feet were able to touch the sand again. Once I could stand still without being swayed by the soft water current, I took a moment to rub down my skin with a handful of sand. It made my skin red but it always felt much softer afterwards too. Only went I was certain that I was clean did I make my way back out of the water.

So that I wouldn't get my feet full of sand, I used my portals to get to my clothes, which I had set onto a rock that had full sun.

As Adamai had Yugo and I go through more practices on how to see Wakfu, my eyes had begun to hurt and the sun that shone on my back had heated me up. I felt as though I had gotten a hang of the technique, so I decided that I could take a few minutes to myself. Currently, Adamai and Yugo should still be working on visualizing the Wakfu. Or they could be playing a new game.

I landed softly on the large rock that I had placed my clothes on. My skin was already a pinkish-red color from being scrubbed with sand, and the bright sun felt nice on my cooled body.

In a crouch, my fingers ran over the surface of the rock. Any tiny rocks that might have bothered me were brushed away before I sat down and crossed my legs. I opened a set of portals, one in front of me and the other just over the water. In my hand went, and any tiny rocks that stuck to my hand fell into the water. I took my hand back out and flicked away the water droplets with a quick movement of my wrist as my portals disappeared from existence.

The rock that I was on was a fair distance away from the cove, and high too. I could see perfectly into the water way below, but if anyone had been swimming there, they would have had a difficult time seeing me.

My hands then went up to my hair. Starting just behind my bangs, my fingers gently parted three strands of my hair and began weaving them together. Then I added more strands of hair to the weave as I worked my way down my head. When I first started weaving my hair, it was difficult to work my way around the magic that protruded from my head. Now that I had years of practice, it was almost second nature.

My eyes drifted down as I fixed my hair. The motions of weaving my hair was familiar and relaxing, which unfortunately allowed my mind to wander. My eyes weren't fixed on the water below the rock. Instead my eyes were focused on my chest. I was flat as a board, but that's not what had my attention. It was the long four clawed scar that started just over my heart and twisted around to my side, stopping just over my right hip, that had my attention.

The scar had faded a lot since I had first gotten it, and the memory of how I had attained it briefly flashed through my mind. Only when I realized that I had reached the end of my braid did I come out of my thoughts. My eyes flickered over to my hat, and I grabbed the white string for the end of my hair. I had left it there before I went into the water.

My skin was mostly dry by this time, so I stood up from my position on the rock and put my clothes back on. My lilac hat was the last piece of clothing that I put back on. I didn't like it when it would get tugged off by my tunic whenever I put it on while my hat was on my head. Lastly, I tied a white rope around my waist in place of a belt. The knot was centered on my right hip where the two ends of the rope dangled to the end of my tunic. Feeling refreshed, I finished straitening out my clothes and sighed.

Yugo and Adamai should be done with their practicing by now anyways. I summoned Wakfu to the palms of my hands, but as I prepared to throw my portals, I noticed something odd. As I moved my hand to throw my portal, the ends of my hair seemed to follow the movements. Giving my hair an odd look, I dissipated the Wakfu from my palm, and watched as my hair fell back onto my shoulder. I grabbed my hair with my hand and was surprised to notice that it was now considerably drier.

Even when I squeezed my hair there were barely any water droplets left on the palm of my hand. Curiously, I used my portals to go down to the edge of the water in the cove. I crouched beside the water, trying to avoid putting my knees in the wet sand, and made my Wakfu pool to the palm of my hand without releasing it.

My hand hovered just over the surface of the water and it grew warmer by the second. I watched the water intensely and almost jumped back in surprise when the water slowly began to move towards my hand. As though the water were magnetically attracted to my hand, it would follow any slow movements that I would make.

My hand burned and I hissed as I released the Wakfu from the palm of my hand. Immediately the water fell back into the cove, like a heavy stone. With my heart pounding at my surprise, I plunged my hand in the water as I stood up straight, and dried my hand off on the end of my tunic. Then I opened my portals and went off to find the boys.

"Guys!" I said as I appeared behind them, "You wont believe what I just found!"

Yugo and Adamai turned from the edge of the canyon and faced me. I picked up the end of my tunic and showed them the damp spot excitedly. They both glanced down at the water on my tunic, then looked back up at me, confused and unimpressed.

"Your shirt's wet?" Yugo asked, furrowing his eyebrows in confusion. I nodded my head enthusiastically, but they didn't seem to share in the emotion. They gave one another a look.

"You didn't get bit by anything in the water... right?" Adamai asked and it was suddenly my turn to give them a confused look.

"What? No," I answered, then forgot all about my confusion as I remembered why I had wet my shirt in the first place. "Watch this."

With my left hand underneath the dampened fabric and my right holding the edge of the tunic so it wasn't directly touching my left hand, I began to concentrate on summoning my Wakfu into the palm of my hand. There was a blue glow that could be seen from around the edges of the fabric. A moment later and the large, damp hand print on my tunic began to shrink. I heard both boy and dragon gasp in surprise, almost making me loose my concentration. When the damp area on my shirt was completely gone, I moved my hand from underneath my tunic. My palm was still glowing blue and gathered onto my skin was the water that I had just taken out of my shirt.

My tunic fell as I let go of it with my right hand and concentrated on the water in the palm of my hand. When I moved my hand, the water would wobble from one direction to the next, but it never spilled over the side of my hand. As though the water had become a slime, it would stay as though it were confined, within the glow of Wakfu on my hand. Only when my hand had begun to hurt from holding the Wakfu there did I release it.

The glow on the palm of my hand disappeared and the water instantly dispersed. It fell out of my hand and into the dry ground at our feet, normal water once again. We were quiet as we stared at the small water stain in the ground. Then I looked up and smiled excitedly at them both.

"That." I said, gaining their attention and seeing just how impressed they were. "Was awesome." And I grinned wide, proud for discovering something that Adamai didn't know either. They both nodded and their eyes were practically sparkling with awe.

"I definitely want to try that later." Yugo said and turned to Adamai. The dragon nodded, grinning almost as big as I was.

"Alright," Adamai said, blinking before looking between Yugo and I. "Are you guys ready to keep going?"

"Yeah!" we said, grinning determinedly at Adamai.

"Then you'll both have to close your eyes."

I blinked at Ad in confusion before I closed my eyes compliantly. There was a moment of silence before I felt something tickle at my eye lids. I rubbed my eyes uncomfortably, and tried to see what had bothered me, but couldn't. My eyes were stuck closed. Just before I could start panicking about never being able to open my eyes again, Adamai spoke calmly.

"The spell will wear off at the end of the day." he said, sounding rather confident of his knowledge. "So you'll have until then to perfect your visualization of Wakfu."

I hummed in understanding as the world began to light up in various shades of blue. It was different, looking at the world in this way, but it no longer felt unfamiliar to me.

"And your not gonna help me right?" Asked Yugo with confidence in his voice.

"Nope, you'll be on your own, bro." Adamai responded, clearly amused.

"Well, since there's no help from you Adamai, why don't we play a game as we go?" I suggested, already knowing the prefect game to play like this.

"A game? Like a race?" Yugo asked curiously. If I could have, I would have rolled my eyes at him. That couldn't be the only game that he knew could it?

"Sort of." I said, smirking. "It's called hide and tag. I'd play this with Moon all day on my island, it's really fun!"

"Never heard of it," Adamai said, but I could hear a smile his voice. "What are the rules?"

"One of us is 'it'." I said excitedly, happy to share a simple game with them. "And the rest of us go hide. After a ten second head start- so that we can find a hiding spot- the 'it' person has to go find the others. When someone is found, they have to run, because when they get touched by the 'it' person they become 'it' instead. If you get caught, you have to wait ten seconds to let anyone who isn't 'it' hide before your allowed to search for people again."

"You played that with Moon?" Yugo asked, sounding surprised. I nodded my head.

"Un huh."

"Who's it?" asked Adamai.

"Yugo is!" I said with a grin, tapping him on the shoulder before I ran towards the edge of the canyon wall. I heard Adamai laugh before I saw him shoot off ahead of me.

"Wha- wait a minute- guys! What do you mean 'Yugo is'?!" Yugo complained, making me smile all the more. "That's it, I'm gonna get you _first_ Elena!"

"Ten seconds brother!" Adamai called from somewhere ahead of me. The wind picked up around me, stinging my skin as I fell. Yugo's voice faded as he angrily called out the numbers.

It was rather disconcerting seeing a mass of blackness below me and yet not being able to tell how close to it I actually was. My stomach somersaulted as I had to guess just how close I was to the ground, with the weightlessness feeling of falling being my only guide.

My palms heated up as I called forth my magic. It was interesting to see how the blue flame of Wakfu surrounding me flowed towards my palms, like water flowing down a designated path. Thinking carefully, I set one portal directly in front of me and the other directly below my feet. Then, as though I were taking stairs, I continued to set up my portals so that I would go down at heights that might not kill me if I were to suddenly encounter the ground. My speed of decent gradually decreased as I went, making me feel just a little safer.

The world around me quickly became darker as I descended. Soon I could only distinguish walls and paths by dark grey outlines of the black spaces.

I stumbled as my feet suddenly hit solid ground, but didn't fall. My head whipped upwards as I heard Yugo let out a surprised yelp. He had cast one of his portals, but had missed falling into it by a few feet. As his next portal appeared beside me, I took a quick scan of my surroundings. When I spotted a route that I could take, I grinned and ran.

Yugo let out a grunt as he face-planted into the ground, the crash sending a small tremor through the ground. My pace slowed as I looked over my shoulder, to make sure that he was alright. It only took him a moment to shake his head and get onto his feet.

"It's okay! I'm alright, I'm fine!" he said loudly, putting his hand in front of him and waving it about as though trying to stop someone invisible from checking him for wounds. It was only when he looked in my direction, though, that I realized how slow I was moving. "AH!"

With my heart suddenly hammering in my chest from being noticed, I turned and focused on where I was going instead. I could hear him catching up with me, but I couldn't speed up because I had no idea when I could run into a wall. Just as I could feel the heat of Yugo's Wakfu at my back, I jumped to my left, dropping into a small roll before I regained my footing and kept on running. I couldn't help but smile in triumph as I heard Yugo let out a small noise of protest before he slid during his turn, just before he chased after me again.

It was difficult to navigate where I was headed when the world around me seemed to consist only of shades of gray, yet I somehow managed. A dark area ahead of me had appeared again, and I was fairly certain that it was a another wall. My hands began to heat up again as I looked around, trying to figure out where I should go. Yugo was gaining on me again, and I was fairly certain that he'd catch me if I didn't move soon.

There was a sudden flash of white between the blackness, just above me to my left. With my heart in my throat, I suddenly turned on my heal so that I was facing Yugo, as a plan appeared in my mind. My feet were planted firmly on the ground, but my momentum from running kept me sliding backwards, causing a small dust cloud to kick up around me. I was only able to see Yugo begin to bring himself to a stop before I made a portal appear directly in front of him. The sudden bright flash of blue light appearing before me made me flinch reflexively, but it didn't keep me from creating the second portal directly where I had seen the flash of white before.

My portals disappeared as an echo of surprise came from Yugo in the distance. Feeling proud of myself for getting him off of my tail, I quickly turned to continue my way towards the center of the island. Unfortunately, I didn't take more than a few steps forwards before my face became acquainted with the cold rock of a wall. I groaned in protest to the meeting.

With my balance suddenly thrown off, I stumbled back from the wall. I put one hand on the wall and held my face with the other, groaning at the pain that was my face.

Incessant laughter registered in my ears and I couldn't help but be annoyed at the source. I growled, but didn't move from my spot just yet, still a little disoriented.

"Y- you okay there Elena?" Adamai's voice called out, the laughter breaking a little as he spoke.

"Adamai?" I asked instead, not pleased that he found my pain funny.

"Y- yeah?" he choked out, still laughing.

"If Yugo suddenly appears, I'll be sure to send him your way." I said sweetly, and began to walk forwards, but with my hand still on the wall for support. When I had run into the wall, my concentration for visualizing Wakfu had instantly dispersed. Now, with my face throbbing as though I had been stung all over, it was just a little difficult to put my concentration back to being able to see the Wakfu around me. And Adamai, with his incessant giggling, wasn't helping.

In a way, I supposed that Adamai was keeping his promise to Yugo. But that only made me want to point out to him that _I_ had agreed to no such thing.

"Okay!" he called out cheekily, making me frown.

As though a fire were lit, the world slowly came back into view for me. The wall that my hand was on was completely black. The direction that I was currently going in was a dark, blue-grey in color. And to my right were black pillars of stones which were outlined in grey. My hand fell away from the wall as I glanced upwards and spotted Adamai disappearing somewhere to my left. That was probably the direction that we were supposed to be traveling in.

With the direction that we were supposed to be going in mind, I picked up my pace. As I traveled around, hiding from Yugo and Adamai as I went, I noticed that the area that I was in was very much like a maze. Only, the walls of the maze were so tall that if you'd stand on top of one and look down, you wouldn't be able to see the bottom. Much like a canyon. Looking from the bottom up, as I was, it was very difficult to see the small sliver of blue light that was probably the sky.

It was as I was walking around with my head up, trying to discern shadows from walls as the sun rose higher in the sky, that I heard a yelp that sounded suspiciously like Adamai. A moment later and I could hear the echo of the dragon's counting reach me from somewhere off to my right. Immediately I picked up my pace and scurried along, not wanting to be caught anytime soon.

As the sun rose higher in the sky, the paths that I walked along grew wider and I realized just how angry the sun was at us for escaping it's heat the previous day. If I stayed within the sun's reach for more than a few seconds, my skin would over heat and burn, as though I had touched a red coal from a fire with my bare hands. But even in the shade the heat of the day got to me. My mouth was so dry, I thought that if I opened it, sand would fall out instead of saliva.

That was when I noticed something particularly bright ahead of me. It was hidden behind a rather large rock, and rather close to the base of the stone wall. But it was so full of Wakfu that it practically glowed; like the special night-jellyfish that appeared near the waters of my island at certain times of the year. It was absolutely beautiful. If my eyes weren't magically sealed closed thanks to Adamai's spell, I would have gladly opened them to inspect what could possibly hold that much Wakfu and not be Yugo, Adamai or myself.

I bent my knees and sat on my heels and I took a closer inspection of the life-form. It was about the size of both my hands together, spread out with my palms down. And it was tear-dropped shaped, like the bud of a flower. When it didn't try to attack me or anything, I carefully let my hand reach out to touch it. It was soft, a little fuzzy, but mostly, it felt like a plant. But that couldn't be right. A plant couldn't possibly be able to survive with the little to no water that it would receive in this area.

Just as I was about to wrap both my hands around the object that I was inspecting, in order to bring it closer, I hear something echo in the distance. I froze, my heart beating a little faster against my chest and I wondered if it was Adamai or not. My head tilted to side slightly as I focused more on my hearing, and who ever it was that was coming closer.

With my back against the cold rock wall and the large rock in front of me, I knew that I wouldn't really be able to get away from whoever was coming towards me.

Out of the corner of my eye I spotted someone running closer. If it was Yugo, I'd be found out immediately- what with my own inner Wakfu acting as a torch to my position and added with the Wakfu filled object in front of me. If it was Adamai, I might not be found _if_ I held perfectly still. He wasn't using the Wakfu sight after all.

The person grew closer, and I turned to see Yugo. He was running for his life with a swarm of small Wakfu lights- no bigger than the specks of dirt you can see floating in the air within a shaft of sunlight- chasing him down. He was yelling out in fear as one speck after the other would fly just fast enough to reach him, then fall back with the rest, leaving him to give out a yelp of pain. I had no idea what to make of the situation, so I simply sat back and watched dumbly as he and the swarm of lights came closer.

"Elena!" Yugo suddenly cried as he was a few feet away from me. My body jolted in surprise when I was called out, as I wasn't expecting him to even notice me- not with that swarm attacking him anyways. "Run!"

Maybe it was the tone that Yugo had used to order me about. It could have easily been the swarm of Wakfu lights that were following closely behind Yugo and only increasing in size as it drew closer. Either way, I scrambled up from my position as fast as I could without spraining an ankle or loosing my balance, and begun to run in the same direction that Yugo was scrambling in without question.

"Eep!" I yelped as I felt something small slam into my back, near my shoulder blade. Yugo ran beside me, holding something mushy-looking in his left hand and an object similar to the one I had been inspecting earlier in his right.

"W- what did you do?!" I demanded of him.

He was only able to whimper in reply before the swarm seemed to catch up to us both. Tiny jabs of pain began to flare all across my back and upper legs. Tears began to pool at the corners of my eyes from the pain. I wanted to run faster, but I didn't trust myself to not run into a wall again while I was being chased by the swarm behind us. My attention diverted in front of me as I took notice of Yugo picking up his pace, and gasped.

Before I could really think about it too much, I had already turned on my heal so that I was facing him and lunged at Yugo sideways- all in one motion. My arms wrapped around his torso and the momentum from our running propelled us forwards.

We slammed into the ground and rolled. The world spun as we went. I felt an arm wrap around my waist tightly while another put pressure at the back of my neck- which helped to keep my head from hitting the ground too roughly. Out of all the small stones that we rolled over as we went, we had to run into the one that was particularly sharp. It had dug into my thigh, in that area just above the knee, and the sudden sharp pain made me gasp.

It wasn't even a moment later that our roll came to an abrupt stop, after smacking into the very wall that I had wanted to avoid. Pain registered in my mind along the entire right half of my body, the only thing not getting hurt being my face. It was as though I had tried to belly flop in the water, only to twist in the air, and land on my side instead. Already I could feel the massive bruise that was blooming along my skin.

As I groaned in protest to the pain, I realized two things at once. The swarm that had been chasing us was no longer there, and I had landed on my stomach, on top of Yugo. He seemed to be laying down on top of his left side, facing the wall. I moved my head so that my chin was no longer digging into his bicep, and put my cheek there as I caught my breath and gathered the courage to move again. I felt like curling up and cradling my injured side as much as I could. But now that I wasn't slamming into it, I could appreciate the coolness of the rock wall seeping into my skin and cooling the stinging pain somewhat.

Yugo groaned, the sound being much too close to my ear for my comfort, and begun to turn. Before I could think to lift my arm up, to prevent myself from being squashed underneath of him, I felt a tug on my waist. As Yugo fell on his back, I was kept still by his arm until I was laying down on his chest instead of his side. I could easily hear his heart beat beginning to slow- what with my head being tucked under his chin- and as I listened to the sound, I felt myself relaxing comfortably. The pain along my right arm and leg- my hip and shoulder specifically- slowly begun to numb into light throbs as I felt my own heart begin to slow in my chest and match the rhythm Yugo's had set.

"Still need to work on my landings..." Yugo seemed to mumble to himself before he spoke more directly to me, "Thanks."

There was a warm breeze dancing across my back like a warm blanket. It made me feel tired and ready to rest for the remainder of the day. Yugo's arms were still around me, one on my waist and the other near the nape of my neck. Maybe that was why my head hadn't slammed into the wall too.

"Mm-hmm." I replied, but I wasn't sure if he had actually heard me. There then followed a moment of silence, in which I remembered that I couldn't stay here- laying down on top of Yugo and falling asleep- no matter how tempting the thought was. We still had a Dofus to fetch, after all.

Estimating where the ground would be on either side of Yugo, I brought my hands up- to about his shoulder height I think- and placed my palms on the dry dirt. At the same time I had moved my legs so that my knees were on either side of Yugo, and a particularly small but sharp stone seemed to stab into my shin. Probably realizing what I was doing, Yugo moved so that his arms were no longer encircling me anymore. All in one motion I began to push myself off of Yugo- and immediately regretted it. Pain shot up my arms, down my back and up my thighs.

I felt my muscles shake from the strain of holding up my weight for all of three seconds before they gave out on me. Knowing that if I fell on Yugo, I would just hurt him, I somehow made my fall into a sharp roll to my left. I landed on my back with a thud, then groaned when more pain shot up my back. Ugh, I was sore all over.

"You alright?" Yugo asked after hearing me thud on the ground beside him. I didn't bother to give a proper response to that.

"What were those things?" I asked instead, referring to the swarm that had been after us.

"That was a Netroh's nest." A voice called out, followed by the heavy thud of a body landing on the ground. My heart begun to thud in my chest in alarm. "And they breed in sutcacks. You've gotta be careful!"

"Adamai?!" Yugo said, and I felt him sit up abruptly from beside me. Concentrating for a moment so that the world was lit up with blue again, I begun to sit up slowly myself. My arms moved behind me in order to support my weight on my elbows, and I could feel every muscle in my back working to keep me upright. My body was so very sore.

Adamai was standing to my right, in his Eliatrope form, with his hands crossed in front of him. Yugo, who was on my left, seemed to be leaning back against the wall to hold himself upright. He had an arm around his ribs, as though he had hurt something.

"How long were you standing there?" Yugo asked Adamai, an odd look on his face as he looked over to his bother. I didn't bother to glance over at Adamai as he responded, in favor of looking over my battered self.

"Long enough." Adamai said smugly and there was a teasing note in his tone. I wasn't really sure what was wrong, but Yugo seemed to become bothered by that answer.

It was hard to tell, when looking over my body while 'seeing' with the Wakfu around me, but I thought that my right knee looked a little different compared to my left. I remembered when Yugo and I had rolled, and a particularly sharp rock had dug into my leg, just above my knee. That wouldn't have been enough to do something to it, right?

I pulled myself up into a sitting position, with my legs straight in front of me. Then I lifted my right arm and tried to wipe most of the dirt off of my hand and onto my shirt. Halfway through wiping my hand, I realized that my shirt was probably more dirty than my hand could have been. So, while holding my breath, I tentatively reached out to touch my knee.

No major or sudden pain registered. I let out my breath and massaged my knee, just to be sure. There seemed to be more Wakfu flowing through my right leg compared to my left and I wasn't sure what _that_ meant. Then something stung when I touched the top of my knee, making me wince in surprise. My relief for not being hurt by that rock came too soon, apparently.

The palm of my hand felt wet, and I frowned. There was blood.

"Adamai," I said and accidentally interrupted whatever Yugo and Adamai had been talking about. I waited a moment, but the boys didn't say anything against me interrupting, so I continued with my thought. "How does my knee look to you?"

Adamai came over from where he had been standing- now with a few more orbs in his hands that held a lot of Wakfu- and looked down at my leg.

"It's uh... cut up." Was all he said after a moment, and I sighed.

"That rock..." I muttered to myself irritably, knowing that the injury on my leg would need to be treated. It if wasn't, there was a good chance that it would get infected. Then I glanced at what Adamai was holding and pointed. "What are those?"

"These?" Adamai asked, surprised for a moment. He held up one of the orbs and I nodded. "They're sutcacks."

"They don't taste that great, but they've got plenty of water." Yugo added, shrugging at his own statement.

"Food?!" I asked excitedly, suddenly reminded of how thirsty I was. Adamai handed me one. "And you just eat it like that? Like an appi? Or do you peel it first?"

"You can eat it like that, but the outer part of the plant is rather bitter." Adamai informed, sitting down beside me and peeling the plant as he spoke. The inside started to ooze out of the plant as he worked on it, covering his hands. He licked his wrist as the insides of the plant just kept running, like melting ice. "And the inside doesn't really have a taste. It's like-"

"Mucus." Yugo said and he shivered in disgust beside me. "With crunchy pieces of snot mixed in."

I opened my mouth to comment, but no words came out. That was a _really_ gross thought. Adamai made a gagging noise, but managed to swallow what he had left in his mouth.

"It does not!" Adamai protested, but he didn't sound too certain of his own statement.

"Does too!" Yugo said back, and I looked at the plant in my hands.

"I'm not sure if I wanna eat this anymore..." I stated quietly, noting how squishy this plant was. Then it registered that I was holding a _plant_. Just how did it grow and survive in this environment?!

"It's the _only_ thing to eat around here." Yugo replied, sounding rather put out by that fact.

"Well its-" Adamai began, but he stopped himself mid sentence. "Wait. Do you guys hear that?"

Alarmed from the sudden change in Adamai's tone, I instantly went still and began to listen. It took all of a moment for me to hear soft snuffling sounds. The noise grew louder and with it came the sound of something walking towards us. Whatever it was sounded heavy enough to not be something small.

Then the sound of a pebble rolling suddenly echoed through the area. The noises stopped completely.

My heart was pounding in my chest. One look at Adamai and Yugo and I could see how this was probably not normal. We stayed quiet for at least another minute, listening as hard as we could, but no more noises were made. But even then, it didn't feel right to try and break the silence.

Adamai made a gesture with his hand, indicating that we stay silent, as he got our attention. Slowly he rose to stand, having left behind his sutcack on the ground. Then he pointed to Yugo. Yugo stood and Adamai pointed to my leg before he offered me a hand. Yugo quickly copied and I accepted both offers. With their help, I was able to get onto my feet with very little noise. I bounced on the balls of my feet, putting most of my weight on my injured leg, and barely felt any pain at all. It must be just a scrape of some sort.

Indicating that I was okay to the boys, they nodded in understanding. Adamai began to hover and he pointed in the direction that we needed to go. Yugo and I nodded and the three of us took off at sprint.

The moment that our footsteps begun to echo in the area, a loud growl rang out from somewhere behind us. My heart palpated in my chest as I instantly recognized the sound. For a moment in time I was transported back in my memories; tall forests surrounded me and I was alone, lost. A growl rang out around me, and it made me freeze mid-step. Low branches of trees shook, flashes of orange and black scurried behind thick bushes and the feeling that I was being hunted sent my heart pounding in fear.

"A bow wow!" Adamai yelled out, pulling me back into the present. Yugo's head whipped around so that he could see over his shoulder, a look of panic on his face. It sounded as though something was running towards us at an abnormally fast pace. Suddenly Yugo turned around completely, reaching his arms out and created two portals- one directly behind us, the other facing the rock wall we were running beside. Not a moment after the portals were created, a flash of bright blue disappeared into the portal behind us and reappeared in the portal that was at our side.

Dust, dirt and rock flew into the air as the projectile hit into the wall at full force, causing a large bang to echo loudly. My eyes widened in alarm as Yugo swiftly caught up to me, Adamai running just ahead in order to show us the way. A bow wow is _not_ normally that fast!

"Quickly!" Adamai said, pausing in his flying for a moment so that we could catch up. Already the running noise had started up again, and I frantically glanced around for a way out. Before I could spot anywhere for us to portal jump to, Adamai flew past Yugo and I with a purple ball of Wakfu formed in his hand. "Keep going!"

Immediately Yugo and I put on the breaks.

"Ad!" we yelled out in sync, confused and worried. Adamai pointed his palm at the bright blue streak that was quickly approaching us, and let loose several attacks. Unfortunately they all missed since the bow wow seemed to be moving at speeds much faster than the three of us could go. Adamai growled as he kept firing the purple Wakfu at the bow wow, forcing it to turn and run in the other direction.

"Get moving!" Adamai practically snarled at us before he flew after it, and at a pace that was much faster than he had been moving before. I kept still for all of one second. My mind was racing. On one hand, I had a free escape from an animal that I very much feared. On the other hand, my friend was going after said animal and might get hurt while fighting it.

My legs moved on their own, and my heart pounded hard in my chest. Fear began to crawl through my mind. I must be crazy. My survival instincts must be broken. I was so, so very scared. But I wasn't just scared for me. I was scared for Adamai and I was scared for Yugo too. The thought of getting myself hurt by the bow wow was pretty scary. But the thought of one of _them_ getting hurt seemed to terrify me.

It was as though my fear had turned into the energy that I needed to run. My breath was already heavy, coming out in almost gasps as I tried desperately to keep up with Adamai. He had already turned into a small speck in the distance, yet I still ran after him, using what I could see of his Wakfu as my guide. And I wasn't alone.

Yugo ran along side me. I could see with my peripheral vision how his movements seemed almost as desperate as mine as we tried to keep up.

A moment or two later, after following many dust clouds and a trail of craters in the ground, a wave of blue Wakfu suddenly hit us. My arms instinctively crossed in front of my face only a moment before the wave came. It felt as though I had belly flopped in the water again, only the water had turned into electricity.

Yugo and I yelped in pain as we were thrown backwards, and I felt as though every cell in my body had been momentarily super-charged. As soon as my back hit the ground with a thump, the extra energy disappeared and left me feeling rather drained.

"What was that?!" Yugo asked from beside me as I struggled to sit up. His voice sounded strained and tired.

"A- Adamai!" I said back, trying to get onto my feet. No one else could have possibly created a shock-wave of Wakfu. No one I know of anyways. I heard Yugo struggle beside me, both of us panting for breath. Eventually we got back onto our feet, and began to run towards where we had seen Adamai disappear to.

Luckily we didn't have to run much farther. Yugo and I rounded a corner before we spotted Adamai, but he didn't look like normal. I gasped as I realized what had happened and Yugo growled.

"What did you do to my brother?!" he yelled, clenching his fists at his side.

The bow wow looked up at the sound of Yugo's voice, and his yellow eyes seemed to look at us tiredly for a moment before they cleared. The animal had trouble standing up, with it's stomach so round and full. It looked much like a large boa who had tried to eat something that was much too big for it's body. Then the bow wow lifted up it's lips to show it's sharp row of teeth, and growled.

My blood seemed to freeze at the sound. I stared at the bow wow's sharp teeth, saw it's sharp black claws digging into the ground. All my mind could register were the images flashing through my head- of the few seconds before Moon had finally come to save me and of those black claws tearing into me. My hand instantly went to the beginning of my scar, just above my heart. The thick smell of blood seemed to reach my nose and I could practically feel it start to pool around me again. It made me cold.

I noticed how the bow wow seemed to tense, about to fling itself directly at us. But my breathing only seemed to hasten as I finally registered just how much _real_ danger I was suddenly in. It was as though I was looking through a tunnel, and the bow wow stood between me and the exit. My body needed to move, I needed to jump as high as I could, _right now_. But I couldn't. It was as though something had grabbed me and kept me rooted to my spot.

 _"Elena!"_ Yugo suddenly yelled, before he tackled me to the side. The bow wow sped past us and hit the rocks that we had been standing in front of. Yugo and I rolled once before we skidded to a stop on our hands and knees, using the momentum of the roll to spring back up onto our feet.

"S- sorry," I gasped as I watched the bow wow get out of it's crater. It was as though the invisible force that had been keeping me still before had been removed. My breathing slowed so that I wasn't suffocating myself anymore and my mind became clearer. I took in a long breath, in attempt to calm my nerves, and let it out slowly as the bow wow turned towards us with a growl.

I couldn't afford to let myself freeze up like that again.


	14. Sanctuary

**A/N: I was reading a story the other day and the author mentioned how long they'd been working on it. Curious, I checked for this story and realized... I started posting it for you on the 12 of April in 2018. It just feels a little crazy thinking about it. Anyways, enjoy!**

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My entire body was tense. Almost rigid even. I stood with my hands in front of me, palms up, with one hand closer to me than the other and held at about chest height. My knees were bent ever so slightly and my right leg was a bit more forward than my left.

I was ready. If I needed to suddenly jump in either direction, straight up, flip backwards or even create a portal- I _was ready_ to do so. Beside me stood Yugo, his stance wide and his fists held up at his sides. And just like Yugo, my attention was focused on the animal in front of us.

Since I couldn't see the bow wow in it's normal colors right now- it was in various shades of blue, black and white- it made the task of facing it easier on me. The main color of the bow wow's pelt is supposed to be a sunset orange color with black dots all along its hide, instead it looked to be a cyan blue color with black dots. The underbelly of the bow wow was white, same as its face and snout. This particular bow wow seemed to have white fur that stuck up out of its back in tufts that followed its spine and stopped around the base of it's neck and the tip of it's tail.

The animal then turned towards us. It's teeth were bared menacingly as it growled lowly. The sound made Yugo and I both tense in anticipation of another attack. Instead of launching at us, like a wound up spring that had been released, the creature's eyes suddenly went wide and it's head ducked between it's front paws. With a heave of it's sides, the animal suddenly upchucked a small blue and white ball that landed roughly on the ground and rolled. The thing came to a stop and Yugo and I both made disgusted noises.

"Ugh! Adamai!" Yugo suddenly said, perking up and running forwards. My eyes widened in surprise before I ran to see the dragon myself. "You okay Ad?"

Yugo and I both bent forwards a bit over the dragon's small body. He had transformed himself into a little Tofu bird. His white scales had lengthened to look like soft feathers that covered his entire body. The blue scales around his eyes seemed to have softened to make his eyelids, while the blue scales around his mouth had hardened into a small blue beak. The little dragon looked adorable, but his entire body was covered in stomach juices, which made a foul smell start to come off of him.

Adamai opened his eyes, blinked in confusion, then flapped his wings to float in front of our faces. He groaned in discomfort and shook his head, as though he were in pain. The sight made me frown in worry.

"You weren't in there too long were you?" I asked, "Are you feeling numb anywhere?"

"No, no." Adamai responded, now starting to look like he was recovering.

"Was it horrible in there?" Yugo asked in a whisper, as though wanting to know a great secret.

"No, not that!" Adamai said, suddenly looking distressed. "That was Xelor magic! It affected my own and now I think I'm stuck like this!"

"Forever?!" I gasped and my eyes would have gone wide if I could open them. Adamai made a small whimpering noise at the same moment that I heard Az tweet in alarm from a pocket in Yugo's clothes. My gaze instantly went past Adamai and to the bow wow that had now recovered from his coughing fit. It barely made any noise as it suddenly launched at us, and Yugo and I reacted instantly.

Our hands went out, magic to make portals being used on instinct. But instead of seeing two normal portals appearing in front and behind us, one portal appeared in both places. An odd feeling tugged in my gut before a bright blue light-beam of pure Wakfu suddenly burst from both portals.

A sudden wave of wind seemed to hiss violently at us as the Wakfu beam passed through the air, and clawed at our clothing in protest. The beam was so bright that I was forced to turn my head away in fear of going blind, despite having my eyes tightly shut. A high pitch yowl was heard somewhere in front of us. Then, as suddenly as the light beams came, they vanished- along with the gale of wind that had come with it. The odd feeling in my gut ceased and the portals disappeared. It had all lasted no more than a few seconds, yet it felt like more time than that had passed as the sudden silence filled the air.

Shocked, I stood with my hands still poised to make portals on either side of me and my chin tucked tightly to my chest. I brought my head back up slowly and my gaze landed on the bow wow. It laid on the ground, a few meters ahead of us, with it's fur steaming. A burnt hair smell began to permeate the air, but as I stared at the animal I could see it's rib cage still moving with every breath that it took.

With a quick glance behind us, I noticed how the rock wall in the distance now had a black scorch mark on it's surface. My breath came out slowly at the sight. It closely resembled the residue the ground gets after being struck by lightning.

"W- what was _that?!"_ Yugo asked with a hint of awe in his voice. I didn't answer him, I knew about as much as he did.

"Wah! You guys did that by _accident!?"_ Adamai said, sounding rather perplexed by this. He fluttered between us while looking towards the fallen bow wow. "Well, we'll have to come up with a name for it later, 'cause we gotta go. He's waking up!"

It took all of a second for me to understand what Adamai had said. My eyes instantly darted to the fallen creature, and I couldn't help but feel a little awe at it as fear struck me hard. Already it was trying to get it's feet under its body as it's eyes seemed to burn right through us. Whatever the bow wow's motivation to swallow us was, seemed to be stronger than any instinct that the animal had attained from being blasted by that attack.

With a sudden jerk, I realized that Yugo had grabbed my hand and was tugging me along side of him as he began to run in the opposite direction. I followed him automatically and let him pull me along as I tried to understand what was happening. With only a glance over my shoulder it was easy to see that it wouldn't take much longer for the bow wow to get over its pain. Already it looked to be bracing itself to shoot at us like a cannon.

My eyes widened in horror at a sudden realization. "Yugo, Adamai!" I cried desperately as I finally began to run properly beside Yugo. "We'll never be able to outrun it, it's way too fast for us!"

"I know," Adamai panted, sounding rather breathless. He was flying just ahead of Yugo and I, his wings beating at the air furiously just to keep that speed. They looked like small blurs at his sides. "When we were playing, I saw a tunnel that would be the perfect shortcut through these maze-like canyons. You can't run directly to it since it's blocked by the sun, so it'll be easy for the two of you to get to it!"

"But the sun's still too hot to touch!" Yugo countered as he and I kept running in the shadows. "We'll burn if we try to run through it!"

"Running?" Adamai asked as he came to a sudden halt after rounding a sharp corner. Yugo and I stopped too, just short of what looked to be a blanket of sunlight directly ahead of us. In front of us was a solid rock wall, which would have been a dead end without the sun anyways, if there hadn't been a clear arch in the stone. It looked like a hole or cave, and I wouldn't have noticed it's presence at all without the dark blue line going directly underneath it. "Your Eliatropes! _Bow wows_ run, while you use _portals_. You see that Wakfu river there? It goes right through the tunnel I was talking about!"

Adamai went up to my hat and I felt him squeeze himself between the belt and my forehead. On instinct my head turned at the sudden noise of the bow wow chasing after us again. A shiver went down my spine at the sight of the creature suddenly bouncing up on the wall, ready to launch towards us. On instinct my body had reacted. Without thinking about it, I had already summoned my magic into my hands cast my portals.

"No going back!" my voice called out, and I noticed how it was an octave or two higher than normal. A large portal appeared under Yugo and I and our body weight instantly pushed us in it. As we fell into the portal the bow wow lunged at us, clearly hoping to get to us on time.

When Yugo and I reappeared in the shadow of the cave that Adamai had pointed out to us, the echo of the bow wow's yelp greeted us. The animal stood back from the sun that now separated us, it's nose now only centimeters from the sun. It's growl reverberating from it's position in the shadows of the cliffs and it stared at us. I could see it's entire body tense and it's claws dig into the dirt in frustration, but it stayed exactly where it was- held back by the burning sun.

"What's with this guy, he just keeps on coming after us..." I said, spying a large burn mark across the animals left shoulder blade. It even favored the leg by shifting it's body weight off of it as much as possible. "Even hurt, it keeps getting back up again."

"Yeah, that _is_ a little weird. I sure hope there aren't many of those things around here." Yugo replied, sounding unnerved.

"And it was moving way too fast," I added, "no bow wow I know of can run like that."

"That's because it's Nox's pet!" Adamai said, his furious voice ringing in the cave from his spot in my hat. I looked up at the sound of his voice, but I couldn't see him of course. "Did you guys see that collar around it's neck? It was sparking because I tried to attack it with my own powers. It's how the creature managed to swallow me."

"Oh, so that's what you meant by 'Xelor magic'!" Yugo realized aloud. "But how do you think Nox managed to find us?"

"With the Eliacube, I suppose." Adamai supplied sadly, then he seemed to straighten himself in his spot on my hat. "No, I'm certain of it. One of the texts that Grugal had me read, told me of how the Eliacube requires a lot of Wakfu in order to function. I'm certain that it would also be able to find strong sources of Wakfu in order to help fuel itself."

The three of us were quiet for a moment, and Adamai's words seemed to sink in. "Come on guys," Adamai continued after a moment. I felt him shift around on my hat again, like he was getting himself more secure. "We better get going. Some distance between us and that guy should help. With the heat as a barrier, we don't have much time."

"But Ad, we've already been running for a long time..." I said, thinking of our trip to this island and of how Yugo and I had been hit with that wall of Wakfu. It had really drained me of any reserve energy that I had gotten from a night's full of rest. As we spoke, I could feel the strain on my body already- from the running and the use of Wakfu earlier on the bow wow. Beside me, I noticed how Yugo winced as he tried to summon some Wakfu to his palm, it quickly dissipated and already I knew that he needed a break from it.

Adamai hummed from his spot on my head, and I guessed that he noticed what Yugo did too. "I know!" the dragon suddenly exclaimed, making me want to look up at him. All I saw was the inside of my hat. "You two can Blend your Wakfu again, and we can follow the river under our feet to go directly to the Dofus from here! It shouldn't be too far away at all, and it's Wakfu should be plenty strong now that Grougal's returned to it."

I smiled, "Then we'd put distance between us and the bow wow, while getting to the Dofus with a single portal jump!" I said happily, liking that idea. There were less chances of Yugo and I getting hurt that way too.

"Sounds good!" Yugo agreed and I noticed how he was smiling too. He held out a hand for me to hold. "Let's do this, Elena."

My hand slipped into his easily, and our arms fell to our sides. Reminded of Adamai's coaching from last time, I knew that Yugo and I were already half-way done with the blending already. We had been sensing the Wakfu in the land around us for most of the day after all.

So I focused my thoughts inwards. My magic felt as though it was a warm stream that ran through me, and gave me my energy. I imagined myself taking hold of it with my hand. It pulsed in tune with my heart before it wrapped itself around my wrist obediently, ready to become whatever I needed it to be. Keeping my magic at the ready, I then split my attention to Yugo.

Already I could feel my skin tingle where it touched his. Slowing my breathing, I began to match his breaths with mine as I felt his magic begin to pool in the palm of the hand which was holding mine. My magic made its way up my right shoulder then down my arm to meet his almost eagerly. As soon as our magic was in the same location, that same shiver that I had felt before crawled up the skin of my arm. It was almost as though I had stuck my arm in the middle of an ant hill, but without any pain of the ants biting at me.

I almost yanked my arm away from Yugo's in sudden panic went I felt that odd presence brush against my consciousness again. It gave me gentle and warm feelings while it's touch was feather light, but I had complete forgotten about it from the last time that Yugo and I had done this, and was certainly not prepared for it. Something in my chest stirred at the touch, something that was equally warm and gentle. I had no idea what it was, but provoked a feeling of fear in me that I couldn't really explain.

Adamai let out a small squeak from atop my hat from my sudden violent jerk, while Yugo somehow had the sense to hold my hand tighter- as though he knew I'd suddenly try to get away. Then I felt Adamai begin to pat my head in a soothing manner, as though he were trying to soothe a spooked wild animal. In a sense, I suppose, that could be what I was. It would certainly explain my sudden fear.

My arm burned a little due to my sudden reaction. Our Wakfu had stopped blending the moment that I tried to pull away, and I had hurt myself- and probably Yugo too- because of the sudden retreat of my Wakfu. I supposed that because our Wakfu was much stronger when blended together, our bodies could only handle it so well- since our bodies were acclimated to our own individual magic and not the new one that is created from blending our Wakfu together.

Tugging at my magic once again, I had it meet Yugo's in equal force. The moment that our magic's started to blend again, that feeling brushing up against my consciousness came back again. Only, I was ready for it this time. Instead of pulling back from it again, I pushed back against it- almost angrily. The thing in my chest practically purred from my action and made my stomach all queasy, but I did my best to ignore that.

'Stop that,' I wanted to say to whatever it was that kept on brushing against my consciousness. 'Your giving me weird feelings!'

I felt Yugo practically freeze beside me the moment that the thoughts crossed my mind but I hardly gave his actions another thought. My consciousness pulled back from whatever it was and I was left with the feeling that it would leave me alone for now.

My mind immediately went back to the blended Wakfu between Yugo and I after that. It felt rather equal with how much magic I was currently using and how much Yugo was using. Taking hold of my half of the magic, I carefully began to extend my own senses outwards. Almost immediately after, I felt Yugo do the same with his half and meet me with it. Using my senses through the magic, our Blended Wakfu followed along the Wakfu river and it pushed us further towards the center of the island.

Outside of the river, I could feel the presence of Wakfu in small animals and insects that we passed by. It almost felt like multiple small flames that were passed by in the blink of an eye. The flow of the river itself was just as calm and constant as I remembered it being, which made it rather soothing to follow. I seemed to float down towards the river, and wondered briefly what could happen if I submerged myself into it.

Before I could even process my last thought, I felt the sensation of a familiar magic that wasn't Yugo's or my own. Like a wild animal who had just heard something in the forest's of it's home, I immediately stopped following the Wakfu river. The feeling was faint, but it had most certainly been there. I felt Yugo's magic halt beside mine, before his magic surged towards that faint familiar feeling. Immediately, I followed after him.

It didn't take very long for the familiar feeling of power and wisdom mixed with mischievousness to get stronger. Along side the familiar Wakfu, was the feeling of another's presence- another Wakfu. With a jolt of clarity, I realized that the other Wakfu could only be the Eliatrope that was Grougaloragran's true sibling.

Suddenly, as though I had tugged on a wire until it was taut, I felt my magic come to a complete stop. An intense burn-like sensation pulled at my heart and I backpedaled a few feet to make it stop. I was now at the very edge of where my senses could take me and somehow knew that Yugo couldn't go any farther either.

Ahead of us was the Dofus, while the area around us seemed to be rather deserted of life. I could barely feel three other presences in the distance, while the Wakfu of small bugs were scarce. Almost simultaneously Yugo and I used our blended magic to set up a portal here. Then I retreated back to myself, with a thought of returning to myself.

The first thing I noticed was how Yugo and I had our fingers interlaced again. Not for the first time did I wonder when that happened. This time though, I didn't just see the Wakfu flowing through me- I saw it in Yugo too.

It looked almost like a strange current that started at our hands, circled through his body, went back to our hands, then circled through my body before it connected back to our hands again. Like one giant circuit. As I watched the Wakfu flow, almost entranced with how it moved, an awareness of how it felt grew. It was almost like there was a current of warm water going through me, warming me and providing me with an almost electric energy. My stomach rolled with an almost sick feeling as I realized that this flow of Wakfu that I could see was the result of Yugo and I mixing our magic together.

I almost rubbed my poor stomach in confusion for the way it kept on making me feel, but lifted my interlocked hand instead. The muscles in Yugo's hand tensed around mine as I lifted our arms in front of us. Our hands shifted so that his palm was on the back of my hand before we drew our arms in a perfect circle and commanded the Wakfu to follow. As though we had just carved a pathway out of nothing, the air in front of us shimmered a pretty blue before a large portal materialized within the circle.

"Wow! That was even quicker than last time guys!" Adamai said from his spot on my hat. I had forgotten about the little dragon sitting up there-he had been very quiet as he waited for us. But his praise made me happy, so I smiled.

"Well, we have been sensing Wakfu all day." I said, and noticed how Yugo smiled beside me. "So that part was already taken care of."

As I said my last syllable a terrible growl seemed to echo from behind us. Swiveling my head to see, my heart picked up it's pace in alarm. But it was just Nox's bow wow, limping along as it paced back and forth in the shadows and safe from the sun. It's yellow eyes seemed to burn right through me as I felt my heart flutter up to my throat. Even with the sun as a barrier between us, I still felt the strike of terror- at the sight of the animal- pierce right through me.

"Let's go." Yugo tugged on my hand, which I noticed was now in his palm, to get my attention. I nodded agreeably, and Yugo led the way through the portal.

Hardly a blink after I had stepped through the portal were we already out on the other side. The portal disappeared soon after I had safely stepped through, leaving Yugo, Adamai and I in a new and unfamiliar place. High cliffs, with the very tops spiked like ominous spears, surrounded us on all sides- which made it look like we were at the bottom of a very deep bowl.

Directly in front of us though, and at the center of the area, was a bunch of loose rocks stacked one on top of the other- in perfect balance. The three rocks from the top sorta looked like it made a face together (though I couldn't be sure from the angle I was standing at), complete with a rock that jutted out like a snout and an indented, flat rock on top which sorta resembled eye sockets.

There were several indents in the rocky cliff walls around us, which made up the sides of our 'bowl'. And, I wondered if they were entrances to caves that lead further into the solid rock. As I turned and looked around at the surrounding area, I realized that the strange rocks weren't the only things here. Hidden behind some tall fallen stones, and safe in the shadows from the sun, was what looked to be a large rock house built into the side of the cliff.

The house itself was a good ways up to cliff- looking up from my spot from the ground- but the cliff's themselves were so tall, that the house was barely a quarter of the way up it's full height. Attached to the base of the house were several basins, each one lower than the next, but wider too. Inside each of the rocky basins was water. It overflowed from the top most basin- which was at the bottom of the house- through the next three and stopped at the last one, and flow back into the rock wall that the house was carved in. Tall trees and small leafy plants grew around the water- at each basin- and I couldn't help but wonder at where the water had come from in the first place.

Stairs zig-zaged around each one of the basins and lead from the ground up to the door of the house on the wall. Lanterns hung on every other rock along the way, but I wasn't sure if they were lit or not. The entire structure reminded me of some sort of temple, really.

"Oh wow, it's a little oasis!" Adamai said as he flew in a small circle above us. I wasn't sure when he had left my hat.

"I wonder how anyone is expected to get in when it's completely surrounded by rock." I wondered aloud.

"There's gotta be a secret entrance." Yugo said, then turned in the direction of the temple house. "Or maybe the only way in or out is with that house."

"Think it's abandoned?" I asked curiously as I walked closer to the structure. A portal appeared near one of the windows beside the house and Yugo popped out of it. He poked his head through one of the windows before he looked back over his shoulder in my general direction.

"No, someone's living here!" he called down to me before he turned back to the temple house. "Hello?! Is someone home?!"

I stopped at the bottom of the stairs and looked up. An odd prickling feeling ghosted across my eyelids suddenly, and I rubbed at my eyes. Suddenly the world around me dimmed from the blues, grays, black and white that I had been seeing all day as my regular vision came back. Blinking a few times to adjust my eyes, I looked up to the sky and saw the setting sun. It was turning the sky into a spectacular show of colors- orange, pink and red all blended together.

But that wasn't all that had my attention. As Yugo appeared beside me through one of his portals- when he was done disturbing the peace- a howl echoed to us from far away. It sent a shiver down my spine and made the hairs on the back on my neck stand on end.

"The bow wow..." Yugo breathed quietly from next to me. "Why do you think it's howling?"

"Probably because the sun went down." Adamai said as he flew down towards us. He hovered just above our heads. "This seems to be a safe enough place, and it's late. I think we should spend the night and continue the search in the morning. Whoever lives here should come back by then anyways and maybe they'll know where the guardian of the Dofus is."

"You don't think Nox knows of the Dofus do you?" I questioned, as I managed to tear my eyes from the tops of the cliffs and away from the direction which the bow wow's howl had sounded from. I looked to Adamai, who shook his small head firmly.

"No, if he did, I'm fairly certain that he would have come himself and _not_ left it up to his pet." Adamai stated.

Yugo looked around us curiously, and I noticed that his azure eyes were wide open now. "Well, where are we gonna stay?"

"Oh..." Adamai took a quick glance around, then nudged his head towards the large rocks in the center of the area. "We can't say in the house- we're not guests. So let's just camp out under that rock over there."

Yugo and I followed Adamai to the base of the rock. I felt uneasy being on the ground and unable to see past the great rock formation around us. Nevertheless, I sat down on a flat rock in the shade and watched as Az suddenly poked his head out of the pocket in Yugo's clothes. If I didn't know better, I'd say the little bird would happily live out it's life in there.

As Az started to fly around our heads happily, Yugo sat down on a nearby flat rock. We both watched Az try and communicate with us with his tweeting, before he spotted something and landed on the ground a few feet away. I spotted Adamai land somewhere nearby before he began to tense his small body oddly, and I looked away awkwardly.

"Hey Ad?" Yugo asked after a moment, his tone sounding unsure. "I dunno if Grougal told you, but trying to go bathroom in full view of everyone-"

"I'm not!" Adamai protested as he spun to face us and cut off whatever else Yugo was going to say about bathroom etiquette. I glanced back at Ad, and saw Yugo give the dragon-tofu a dead-pan look out of the corner of my eye. Adamai flapped his wings and hopped closer to us, almost nervously. "Really, I'm not! I was trying to change back!" He held his wings out in front of him and his expression grew worried. "It's not working though. I'm still stuck."

"Maybe you'll have to wait a little longer?" I suggested, feeling sad for him. "It can't possibly last forever."

Adamai sighed, the sound was almost defeated. "Yeah." then he spotted Az- who was pulling at a worm that he managed to find- and seemed to shiver. "Why does that worm suddenly look so tasty?" he muttered, then flew over to the yellow bird.

Yugo and I laughed as Adamai tried to steal the worm from Az, and failed miserably as worm managed to escape during the confrontation.

Suddenly another loud howl seemed to echo around us. It chilled any warm feelings that I had gotten from feeling a little safe within the towering walls of rock. Instantly I tensed, any laughter that I had dying in my throat, as I realized that the sound was much closer than it had been before. I glanced around the sharp peaks of the cliffs nervously and felt my heart flutter in my chest with worry as my eyes spotted every dark shadow that could potentially hide an entrance to the area.

Not feeling very safe at all so close to the ground anymore, my eyes spotted the flat top of the rocks that Yugo and I were sitting under. I winced slightly as I called on my magic, feeling the heat of it practically burn my hands, but used my portals anyways. One flew up to the top of the rock while the other appeared directly underneath me. Swiftly, I fell through them while still sitting, and landed softly on top of the highest point in the area.

Now that I was higher, I could see just a little farther around the base of the closed in area. I wasn't high enough to see over the towering cliffs, but not being directly on the ground made me much more at ease than I had been before. To try and relax, I stretched out my legs in front of me and placed my palms against the warm rock at my sides, and began to slow my breathing. As my body relaxed, I realized just how tired I was. My eyes dropped heavily as I watched the sun cast darkening shadows over the far cliff. It wouldn't be much longer until it was fully night.

With a flash brilliant blue, a portal appeared beside me. Yugo stepped out of it with ease and smiled at me. I blinked curiously at him- as his smile seemed to make my stomach feel weird again- before I gave a tentative smile back. A third howl pierced through the air. It was even closer than the last time I heard it, but I knew I'd be much harder to find now that I was up high.

"What's with you and high places?" Yugo asked curiously as he sat down beside me, his legs stretched in front of him too. His azure eyes seemed to glance around the edge of the rock before he scooted a little farther away from it.

The answer, I knew right away. "They're safer, of course." I said almost instantly, smiling at him as his eyes met mine.

"Sure, if you don't fall." he responded.

My smile grew bigger and I shrugged. The thought of me actually falling was ridiculous- I spent most of my life living on top of a tree after all- and the one time that I _did,_ didn't count. People didn't usually pop up behind me when I was alone. "Maybe. But it always has a beautiful view," and I pointed where the sun was slowly going down with a nod of my head. Yugo looked, and I could see the hesitance he had begin to melt.

The last rays of the setting sun disappeared behind the cliffs. Instantly we were engulfed by the darkness that sun left behind. A chill crawled over my skin from the loss of warmth and another howl echoed around us. Was that bow wow ever going to give it up? With it howling every so often like that, I won't be able to sleep peacefully.

"Are you alright?"

Taken out of my thoughts, I realized that I had probably been staring off into the darkness for a little while. I glanced over at Yugo, who's features were now shrouded in shadows. I could barely see his eyes from under his hat, even with their bright blue color. The stars were slowly making their presence known, while the new moon stayed hidden from the world.

"I couldn't really ask you before," Yugo continued, and I could faintly see his arm moving so that he could scratch his cheek. "But you froze up real bad before, and I can see how the bow wow seems to scare you. I just..." he paused, and I noticed how he began to sway his feet almost nervously as he leaned back on his hands. Then he seemed to turn towards my general direction. "We _are_ a lot safer, hidden in this place. It's going to be a long time before that bow wow can find us... _if_ it ever does. And Ad and I are here too. We'll be facing it together."

I didn't really know what to say in response. As Yugo spoke, I had fiddled with the hem of my tunic with my right hand, and thought of my long scar.

Moon had taken me up to his tree when the bow wows had fled- though I hadn't been sure how he had gotten me there. I remember laying by myself for hours in pain- drifting in and out of consciousness- as the small monkey came and left, bringing with him some food and water. He had chewed up some green leaves and placed them on the fresh wound sometime as I slept. I had been helpless to know if I'd even survive through that very night.

The looks that the villagers had given me just before they left me be, haunted my fevered dreams. It made me unsure of what my life would be like in the future, and I wasn't sure if I had the courage to walk through it by myself.

Now, as I felt the presence of another person sitting beside me, and knowing that they were worried for me- trying to reassure me- it stole any words that I might have had. Of course I was afraid, I had been surviving on my own with Moon for the longest time on my island. But Yugo's words reminded me that I _wasn't_ alone anymore. I had met people who asked me to join them in their journey. Who didn't look at me like I was some sort of monster. And, who considered me as family- a _sister_ Grougal had called me.

Instead of replying with words, I took in an audible breath. For five seconds I held it in before I let it out slowly, and tried to let out any fears of bow wows that I had with it. Then, once I felt better, I scooted closer to Yugo and pressed my side against his. My stomach felt weird again as I kept myself closer to him, but I ignored it in favor of the warm feeling that started to grow in my chest when he didn't try to pull away.

Already Yugo had saved me from the bow wow today. It was the least that I could do, to place some trust in him to continue in doing so. I wouldn't be able to face the animal by myself, I already knew that.

Ever since the attack, whenever I'd hear a bow wow at night, I'd hightail it to the very top of Moon's tree and stay there all night- heights becoming my salvation. Of course in the day time, I'd simply stay away from where I thought the bow wows were or were going to. But always I knew that I could get away with the new discovery of my portals and with a safe place to go. Now that I was traveling, I couldn't be certain if there would be a high place to go when I wanted to be safe.

But maybe... maybe Yugo could help me with that.

* * *

 _With a long and tired yawn, I stretched my arms high above my head. All day I had been working on my medical ointments, happily using the plants that Yugo, Nora, Elfrim and I had recovered. The king had asked me privately to prepare as much medicine as possible for injuries and I was working hard to fulfill the request._

 _Half way through my day today, I had gotten a visit from Qilby, who had inquired about the qualities of the plants that I had and what I intended to use them for. Oddly enough, he seemed most insistent on knowing which plants caused the slow of Wakfu, which weren't many to begin with._

 _Brushing off the odd behaviour from my thoughts, I smiled happily when I spotted my house. Quickly making a portal so I could get to the front door just a little faster, I easily turned the handle and walked in with flourish._

 _"Tehanu! I'm home!" I called happily, and kicked the door closed behind me. The small home was completely quite. I looked around, suddenly worried, and saw no humanoid-dragon in the vicinity. Even my mental link to her came up blank, though I could feel that she was nearby and just fine- happy in fact. My dragon sibling's feeling was like a small happy buzz at the back of my brain, which momentarily filled me with happiness too._

 _When I finally pulled away from the feeling though, I got a hold of_ my _feelings and felt them drop. Usually she would be here when I got home, and we would share in our days events over dinner before she would lay down and I would be wrapped up in her scaly warmth. It hurt even, knowing that she was happy without me while I was by myself. She wasn't trying to pull away from me was she?_

 _I had noticed that her behaviour had become increasingly distant with me ever since she told me that she had found another dragon that seemed to click with her. I wasn't sure if it was a wild dragon or not, and I had yet to see them for myself despite the dragons that surrounded us daily._

 _Without even noticing it, I had begun to follow the motions of making dinner. As I put some cut up vegetables into a large pot of bubbling tomato sauce, I realized that I was making way too much food for just one Eliatrope to eat._

 _I walked over to the frozen storage bin- the ice to keep it cold is a courtesy from a wild frost dragon- and opened it, only to pause as I reached to put the unused vegetables away. Still sitting on a shelf within the medium sized metal box was a cloth. It was wrapped tightly around a boxed lunch that I knew I had left there for Tehanu yesterday night._

 _Had she not come home at all? The thought sent a sudden jolt of pain to my heart._

 _The lid to the frozen storage closed a little rougher than it normally would, as I turned back to the pot hanging over the fire pit in the kitchen. Angrily, I began to set up a second pot to boil water but spilled some on my arm as I went. I cursed at the dumb pot for being so tipsy and I cursed at the fire for being so hot as I struggled to get the handle on the hook._

 _A knock sounded at my door, and the pot fell onto the hook heavily from my surprise and splashed some water into the flames. As the flames quickly began to fizzle out, I glared at the sloshing water accusingly. It would take a few minutes to get that water out of my firewood, then I'd have to start up the fire again, and not get myself burned at the same time._

 _Another knock sounded at my door, and I turned towards it angrily. It was the knocking that had startled me- and the person behind it would get an earful from me for making me spill that water. I yanked open the door roughly and glared._

 _"What?!"_

 _Then I blinked, and stared. The knight, Yugo stood at my door step, one hand poised to knock, the other holding a piece of paper, and a positively startled look on his face. If I hadn't been so annoyed from earlier, the sight might have made me laugh or feel bad. But I_ was _still annoyed. I raised an eyebrow at the blue-clad Eliatrope, and he seemed to stumble for his words- something that I had never seen Yugo do before._

 _"Ah, h- hi, Elena." he said, and gave a small awkward wave with the hand that he was about to use to knock. He glanced down at his paper, then his azure eyes met my turquoise ones uncertainly. "Um, I was given a message to tell you from our king."_

 _My eyes widened slightly from the news. Flaming metal ships falling from the sky and landing near the village flashed in my memory and I nodded my head, opening the door wider so Yugo could come in. I had been expecting a message from King Chibi for a while now, but I had not expected for Yugo to be delivering it. Wasn't he rather busy anyways- what with patrolling the village to make sure no Eliatropes got hurt, and to make sure that the curious alien ships stayed dormant?_

 _Yugo walked into my home, and I closed the door behind him before offering him a seat at my dinner table. He began to speak as I went to go and get him a cool drink._

 _"I'll get straight to it then," he said, "there's going to be a meeting tomorrow- for the entire council- about those ships. One of them opened today, and a single alien came out- said that it would speak to us tomorrow afternoon. But only to one person."_

 _"That all happened today?" I asked incredulously, looking at Yugo with wide eyes as I set his drink on the table. He nodded his head and thanked me before he took a sip of the drink. With my own drink in my hands, I sat down across from Yugo at my table._

 _"You'll be there?"_

 _"Yes." I answered easily, nodding my head in agreement. Yugo sighed, and his shoulders lowered so that he was less tense. Then I noticed just how tired and worn he looked. It made me wonder just how many people he had to visit tonight._

 _"Are you alright?" we both stared at one another incredulously- we had spoken at the same time. "Why?" I cleared my throat and a small smile threatened to show itself on my face as we did it again. Yugo scratched his cheek sheepishly, and gestured for me to talk first._

 _"You look pretty tired," I said after I had concealed my smile by taking a sip of my drink. "And I haven't seen you since the those space ships landed. I can only imagine how busy a warrior like yourself must be, when a possible enemy is so near."_

 _He looked down at the table, his fingers fiddling with his wooden cup. "And I wondered why the king asked me to visit this house last..." he said quietly, and I almost didn't hear him. Before I could respond, he was talking again. He looked up from the table and met my gaze. "I have been very busy, since the ships landed. There aren't that many Eliatropes who know how to fight, so I've walked around the village every day since." one of his hands came up and scratched at the back of his head and he suddenly avoided my eyes. "So it's been a while since I've spoken to anyone really."_

 _"N- not even your dragon brother?" I asked quietly, stunned. Yugo shook his head and propped his elbow on the table before leaning his chin in his hand._

 _"For some reason, Adamai seems rather preoccupied recently. Otherwise he would have accompanied me every day, I know it." the Yugo looked to me with a soft smile on his face, and raised an eyebrow. "And how about you, Lady Healer? You seemed rather angry when you opened your door."_

 _"Me?" I couldn't help but ask, feeling caught off guard a little. It wasn't often when another Eliatrope asked me how I was feeling- it was usually the other way around. Yugo's smile seemed to grow amused, but I ignored it- suddenly feeling somber. "I just... I haven't seen my own dragon sibling in a while too. I miss her," then I looked at Yugo accusingly. "And you happened to knock when I was in the middle of setting water over the fire."_

 _Yugo looked over to the fire pit in surprise, and I followed his gaze. The fire itself was rather warm but even from here I could see that both pots over the flames weren't even red. Then with a jolt, I realized that the fire was still going- not fizzled out- and my food was still bubbling!_

 _With a gasp I got off of my chair- it clattering with my haste- and went straight to the pots. I picked up the wooden spoon that hung off a hook beside the stone fire pit, and began to stir the sauce slowly._

 _"It's burned!" I whined after a moment, bringing up my spoon with some black chunks stuck to it from the bottom of the pot. With a frown I began to chuck the burnt pieces of food into the fire and listened as Yugo began to stand from the table._

 _"Well, it looks like I caught you at a bad time- cooking dinner and all. I need to get home and do so myself- who knows, Ad might have come home tonight and I certainly_ don't _want to be eating_ his _cooking!" Yugo said, suddenly sounding nervous. I turned and watched for a moment as he tried to escape out the front door. "So, I'll leave you be and-"_

 _Smiling at the knight sweetly, I made a set of portals. Instead of his hand wrapping around my door handle, he grabbed his half-full cup from the table. He blinked at the cup in his hand before he looked up at me, like a child who got caught skimping out on their chores by a parent._

 _"No, please," I said sweetly and gestured to my humble abode as I cut off whatever excuse to get away he had been planing to say. "Stay for dinner. I'm sure your sibling wouldn't mind and you can even take back to him whatever we can't manage to eat."_

* * *

 **A/N: Tell me what you think of the story so far- has it gotten more interesting for you over the last year or so? Let me know if you have any constructive criticism about the story or the characters. Do you have any questions? I am willing to answer them. I look forwards to any review!**


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